Baby
by NoxPandorica
Summary: Fuji once decided to confess to Tezuka, and was rejected immediately. Six years later, an accidental meeting leads Tezuka to question his decision. Why is he so concerned with his friend he hasn't seen for years? TezukaxFuji, mainly, shounen-ai, fluff
1. Leaving

**Verse 1 - Leaving**

* * *

It had taken Fuji Shusuke six days after meeting Tezuka Kunimitsu to realize that he was in love with said boy. It wasn't a perverse, lustful love, but instead an innocent desire to be closer to him than anyone else. Well, as innocent as you could get with Fuji.

It had then taken Fuji six years to work up the courage to tell him.

* * *

They were walking home one day during mid March, as usual, and Fuji knew Tezuka's thoughts were full of colleges and pressure. They were in their final year of high school, with only two more weeks to go, and the pressure was on for everyone, except for Fuji, of course, because he had already gotten accepted into his dream college. That fall, he'd be leaving for America to go to Stanford. He had yet to tell all the Seigaku ex-Regulars.

It was Fuji's idea to stop by the park. It was quickly approaching spring, and Fuji felt it was the perfect time to have ice cream. As always, Tezuka treated, but didn't get one himself. Instead, they kept walking towards their homes.

"I like you, Tezuka," Fuji began. He made sure to keep his tone conversational, as if he were commenting on the quality of his ice cream.

"Hn," Tezuka merely replied, after quickly glancing at the tensai.

"So, I was thinking, we should go on a date sometime," he continued. Fuji was staring straight ahead, and was smiling.

There was a pause before Tezuka firmly said, "I'm not gay, Fuji".

"Are you sure? I'd pay…"

Tezuka still shook his head no, rather vehemently, so Fuji dropped the subject. He knew a lost cause when he saw one, and Tezuka had been a lost cause for most of his life. He had been rejected, in more ways than one, Fuji realized.

Once he was home and safe behind his front door, Fuji sighed. He suddenly felt exhausted. He didn't cry – there really was no need to – but he had just been rejected for the second time in his life, and he could feel the stinging pain that his suffering pride exuded.

For a while he tried to convince himself that when Yuuta had so openly rejected Seigaku and his family, it had hurt more. He ignored the rather large part of him that disagreed.

* * *

Yumiko stood outside Fuji's door, standing still and barely breathing. She knew that her little brother was probably beating himself up over confessing and getting rejected.

She had actually been behind them the whole walk, and had had to stop herself from stomping up to Tezuka and demand that he take Fuji's hand in marriage or suffer the consequences. She knew that if she had, Tezuka and Fuji would've probably been married the next day. However, this was the 21st century, and she was pretty sure Fuji would've been just a bit put off if she'd done that.

Yumiko, for once, couldn't think of anything to say to her little brother, because she knew nothing would ease his mind. So, instead, she went back to her room and started planning about the next few months.

* * *

Three days later, Fuji announced to all his friends that he'd be moving to America the weekend after the school year ended. He watched his friends' reactions, amused.

Eiji's was the loudest – he jumped out of his chair (which promptly fell over), and immediately screamed, "EH?" loud enough for the whole school to hear. Oishi, who had been walking towards their table, dropped his lunch on the cafeteria floor.

Momoshiro stopped eating and choked on his food, while Ryoma did the same with his Ponta. Taka-san looked confused and stared wildly at Fuji. Kaidoh hissed and looked confused as well, while Inui paused and stared openly at Fuji, his notebook forgotten for once.

Tezuka's face had returned to normal, but Fuji had caught the slight widening of his eyes.

Yuuta and Mizuki, who were walking towards their table, both looked surprised, and Yuuta openly asked why he hadn't heard about this earlier. That was when Inui decided to go back to writing notes and Eiji asked why even Yuuta hadn't known about this.

Fuji explained his sister's wonderful idea – that Fuji should go live in America before the college year started to get used to living there – and that he'd been accepted into Stanford, but didn't give an explanation as to why she had this wonderful idea. Fuji looked at Ryoma and could immediately tell he knew why. Inui probably knew too, and Eiji was starting to get the hint. Realization dawned on Mizuki's face, and he immediately pulled Yuuta away.

* * *

As Fuji was waiting to board the international Boeing plane that would take him straight to Seattle, the faces he'd gotten used to seeing over the past few years appeared in front of him, each holding some sort of gift or another. Just last night they'd held a party for Fuji and all their rival schools had been invited, even from outside Tokyo. Fuji thought they were going a bit off the top but everyone disagreed.

Fuji got multiple gifts from just about everyone, even people from Hyoutei and Rikkai. Most of them were videos of what he assumed was everyone saying good-bye, though he did get a few signed posters.

Ryoma and Tezuka gave their gifts last. Ryoma's gift was Fuji's personal favorite – the thirty-two notebooks that the two boys had filled up with passed notes for the past four years of their acquaintance, eight per year. Fuji immediately recognized them, and later noticed a thirty-third notebook slipped in. He'd smiled and hugged Ryoma and whispered a quick thank-you.

Tezuka had gotten him coupons to all the local ice cream places in Stanford. Fuji had chuckled at that and nodded thanks. After that, Tezuka refused to look at him and Fuji walked away.

**TBC**

* * *

**Review please? I know the first chapter was very boring, but I SWEAR it will get better as we go on. **


	2. Meeting

**Verse 2 - Meeting**

* * *

Tezuka tried to remember why he'd let Atobe talk him into visiting America with him. He rubbed his head to ease the headache Atobe had caused as he remembered back to the unwelcome memory.

"_Tezuka! Isn't this just a pure coincidence?" _

_Tezuka slowly, hesitantly, turned around as he heard that familiar voice. From the tone, he could tell that meeting Atobe was not a coincidence at all. _

"_Atobe," he simply replied in greeting, trying to find a reason to excuse himself from Atobe's presence. The two hadn't seen each other in almost six years, since they'd graduated high school. Even now, he was in no mood to deal with the rather overzealous boy._

"_Come, Tezuka, we must catch up! I am sure you have missed ore-sama's presence dearly, and I have decided to grace you." That being said, Atobe managed to drag him off to some overly expensive café, and Tezuka was forced to make small talk. _

_It turned out that Atobe would take over his father's company in the next few years (he was still finishing up his MBA and getting some internship done), but was now on break. Atobe was also going to America with some of his "dear, unworthy friends" for the next two weeks, and Tezuka was invited._

_Tezuka rejected the offer on the sense that he didn't have the time or money to afford such a trip. Atobe laughed in his face and told him that "obviously, ore-sama's going to pay for this vacation". Tezuka still shook his head no, but Atobe apparently wasn't looking at him because the next day, Atobe showed up at Tezuka's doorstep._

_Tezuka had snorted at the surprise in Atobe's face when the latter realized that Tezuka wasn't packed and ready to leave. So, Atobe ordered his servants to pack for Tezuka, and had two others drag Tezuka, unwillingly, into the car. _

_He'd been met by the friendly face of Yukimura and a stoic Sanada, another two people he hadn't seen in six years. Two minutes later, the four were on their way to the airport, and then to America. _

_He'd slept for most of the plane ride._

Now, Tezuka was walking the busy streets of Chicago, wondering what there was to do. He was alone because his three other companions had all decided to stay awake and play around during the plane ride, and were now sleeping the day away. He firmly believed that Sanada would've at least slept had Yukimura not been there to amuse Atobe.

Tezuka's eyes wandered as he walked down a street he didn't know the name of. It was littered with small little grocery shops and people hurried from one place to another, while on the road, cars zoomed by with carefully controlled speed (that was definitely over the speed limit, Tezuka mused).

That was when everything changed.

He decided to go into one of the stores, Walgreens, for lack of anything better to do. He didn't have any American money yet, so he couldn't really buy anything. Instead, he just strolled up and down the aisles in search of something to catch his interest.

In one of the aisles, he saw a peek of honey brown hair and small stature that drew him to it.

And he froze when he realized who he was looking at.

Fuji Shusuke seemed to trying to decide between two flavors of ramen, and was frowning seriously at both. In one arm was a blue basket that had more ramen and some other basic necessities.

Tezuka didn't say anything. He didn't walk away either, though a part of him was bribing him into just that. Before Tezuka could make his final decision however, Fuji seemed to decide on the ramen, and turned to leave.

Tezuka realized belatedly that he was standing in Fuji's way.

"Tezuka," Fuji didn't skip a heartbeat, and immediately, his usual smile was on his face.

"Fuji," Tezuka simply nodded back, and he could swear Fuji's smile widened.

"I can see you haven't changed. What are you doing here?" Fuji walked up to him, and past; Tezuka followed closely. It wasn't like he could just ignore the tensai anyway (he remembered too well the consequences of a pissed off Fuji).

"Atobe dragged me here," was his simple reply. Fuji hummed in acceptance, and got in line at the counter.

"So he's here too?"

"And Yukimura and Sanada."

The lady at the counter smiled gently as Fuji said "thank you" in perfect, accent-less English, and once again, Tezuka followed Fuji out.

The two had walked randomly often, and when Tezuka didn't have somewhere to go, he'd used to follow Fuji around.

"Is that right? I'll have to meet them sometime."

Tezuka nodded and there was silence for a while. He took that chance to examine the tensai.

Fuji had grown taller, Tezuka noted, and now stood only about an inch shorter than his own 5'11". His hair had been grown out longer, and with his eyes closed, Fuji could easily have been mistaken for a girl (his features seemed just a bit more feminine than the last time Tezuka had seem him). His body seemed slimmer than Tezuka remembered, due to not playing tennis all day, every day, Tezuka conjectured. The last thing Tezuka noticed was that Fuji's hair had highlights, though they were few and far between. They were a dark blonde and Tezuka could pick out a few caramel locks as well.

Tezuka only noticed that they were somewhere once he noticed Fuji pull out a key and turn the lock. The silence between them had been comfortable, something he realized he missed.

"Come in, Tezuka," Fuji softly said, before opening the door wide.

Tezuka was about to comment but he was cut off by a loud, panicky voice.

"Shusuke! Save me! I think I'm burning down the house!" An unknown, male voice sounded from somewhere to the right.

Fuji immediately opened his eyes and raced to the kitchen. Tezuka smelled smoke as he entered the house and took his shoes off.

In another five minutes, Fuji was back out, his smile dangerously thin, followed by a smaller, black haired boy.

"I'm sorry, babe, I swear, it was not on purpose. I wouldn't do that to you, you know that, because I love you," cooed the boy.

**TBC**

* * *

**Okay, so the second chapter wasn't much better than the first. But please keep reading, because I think I have a solid idea for this story (and a possible sequel). Reviews, perhaps, even if you hate it? Suggestions? Etc?**


	3. Greeting

**Okay, so here's the third chapter to the story. I'm surprised so many people like it. **

**I know a few of you are wondering who that boy was. Well, say hello! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Verse 3 - Greeting**

"_I'm sorry, babe, I swear, it wasn't on purpose. I wouldn't do that to you, you know that, because I love you!"_

Tezuka's ears jumped up, his brain translating what had just been said into the English he'd taken painstaking means to learn. He took a really good look at the boy.

Tezuka was sure he'd never met him before. The boy was definitely American born, or European, and had tanned skin, though you could still see pink undertones everywhere. Black hair with electric blue highlights framed a round face, inset with icy blue eyes which looked surprisingly warm. His height was comparable to Tezuka's own, and he carried himself proudly, though, at the moment, he was hanging off of Fuji.

He wore a pair of gray-black skinny jeans that seemed to a size or two too big and the traditional converse sneakers. His white shirt had "Try me. You won't regret it" written across it in big, sparkly blue letters; and he had on a sleeveless black hoodie over that. They clung to his well-muscled body in a way that showed him off. On his forearms were black and blue fingerless arm warmers.

One word came to Tezuka's mind while examining him: emo; though what a twenty-four year old was going dressed up as emo, Tezuka couldn't fathom.

His whole outfit worked with Fuji's simple clothes: a light blue, almost see-through long sleeve, and large, baggy jeans. They looked perfect together, Tezuka mused.

"Ah, sorry to keep you waiting. My boyfriend decided to try to burn down the kitchen once again." Fuji's smile showed no traces of anger, or even annoyance, but instead seemed perfectly relaxed.

"Shu, who is this?" the boy asked, while looking curiously at Tezuka.

"Of course, introductions," Fuji smiled wider while gesturing towards his companion. "This is Aiden Clanes, my boyfriend of the past three years."

Fuji pronounced Aiden's last name _Clain_.

"Aiden, this is Kunimitsu Tezuka, a friend from Japan."

Aiden stared at Fuji for a while before some sort of realization seemed to dawn on his face. He then untangled himself and held out his hand for Tezuka to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kunimitsu – May I please call you Kunimitsu?" Aiden offered.

Tezuka nodded and shook hands with Aiden. There was just something about Aiden's manner, however, that seemed to remind Tezuka inconceivably of Atobe's propriety is certain situations.

After the niceties were over with, Fuji disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner. "_I_ won't burn down the kitchen," he said with a smirk before walking away.

"I already apologized for that!" Aiden called after him, pouting.

"That was the seventh time, Aiden. I've told you to not go in the kitchen. You should listen, sometimes."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Aiden grumbled. Though he seemed annoyed, Tezuka could see the pure admiration that Aiden seemed to hold for Fuji. He turned to Tezuka. "So, Kunimitsu. You and Shu have known each other since junior high, right? He once vaguely mentioned something about being on the same team as you…"

Tezuka nodded. "We used to play tennis."

"Oh, really? Was your team any good?" Tezuka noticed something: Aiden's eyes sparkled when he spoke, not unlike he remembered Kikumaru's, though Aiden seemed to know how to keep his voice down and be less energetic.

"We did well in a few tournaments, but we eventually had to split." Because Fuji left, Tezuka filled in, in his mind.

"Wow, that's great! Do you have any pictures? Shu never lets me see any pictures of when he was a kid, though I've asked a billion times." Aiden pouted once more.

"No. The others might. You can ask them, if you want."

Aiden chuckled. "That's the exact same thing Shu told me, but I swear he knew I wouldn't be able to contact the 'others'."

"You can ask Atobe. He has some."

"Tezuka, don't let him meet Atobe. They would become best friends and feed off of each other's pigheadedness." Fuji had reentered the room carrying a plate of cups. He poured Aiden what looked like coffee, and poured out milk tea for himself and Tezuka. "Either that, or they'll kill each other."

Tezuka didn't understand. He was still trying to remember the last time he'd had Fuji's milk tea, which used to be his favorite drink all throughout middle and high school, but couldn't. "Why?"

"Atobe Keigo, as in the son of the famous fashion designer?" Aiden asked hopefully.

Tezuka and Fuji both nodded.

"I _love_ that guy! He can be a bit stuck up, but he's really interesting!"

That surprised Tezuka. Aiden knew Atobe? Why? After all, the only people Atobe interacted with were his old tennis friends and the new connections he'd had to make for his company.

"See what I mean? Sometimes, the two will get along, other times, they're like cats and dogs," Fuji hummed while blowing at his tea. Apparently, he'd picked up on sarcasm over the past six years.

"Aw, Shu, don't be mean, like you have a right to talk. You won't even go to the parties no matter how many times you get invited."

"I don't see a need to."

"Why not? They're fun. And you get to meet pretty girls!"

"Because meeting pretty girls is what I've always wanted."

"That's not the point, Shu! Ah, Kunimitsu! Please make Shu understand why he should go to late night parties! You've been to them right?"

Fuji's smile widened and he turned his closed eyes on Tezuka.

"…" He couldn't think of anything to say. The last time he'd been to one of Atobe's parties, he'd left after a half hour and had never gone back. Fuji definitely remembered that time, since Fuji had left with him.

"Kunimitsu! Don't tell me you've never been to one of Atobe's parties!"

"I have," Tezuka nodded shortly.

"Then why…?"

"He decided to leave early, muttering something about egotistical teenagers and alcohol," Fuji piped in cheerfully.

"Wow, you sound just like Fuji. You don't say much, do you?"

Fuji chuckled. "Oh, by the way, Tezuka, you're staying for dinner, right?"

Tezuka refused immediately and stood up to leave. He hadn't realized that it was already about five in the evening and he needed to talk to the others soon.

"Wait! You can't leave already! You just got here!" Aiden jumped up as well, blocking the doorway out of the living room.

Actually, Tezuka had stayed there for over two hours already, but he figured that didn't really matter to Aiden.

"I'm sorry, but I have to talk to the others, first."

"But, come on! I haven't gotten embarrassing stories of Fuji out of you yet!" Aiden sounded like a wounded puppy.

"He's staying, Aiden," Fuji simply walked off back to the kitchen as if everything was decided. Tezuka glared at his back and Fuji waved, being as omniscient as ever.

Tezuka sighed and rubbed his head. He hadn't gotten a headache this annoying since high school, and he couldn't say he missed them. He did, however, miss the aspirin he gotten used to leaving at home.

"Yay! Alright, so dinner for five tonight!" Aiden jumped back to his seat on the recliner as Tezuka sat back down on the couch.

"Five?" Tezuka only knew of three people in the house.

"Tyler and Sakuno should be back soon. I think you'll like Sakuno – everyone does – but Tyler can be a bit of a bother. _I _don't even like him, and the bastard's my brother."

Tezuka wondered why the name Sakuno sounded familiar.

**TBC**

* * *

**So what do you guys think of Aiden? Like him? Hate him? Yes, he _is_ Fuji's actual boyfriend, and he's there for a reason. I'll try to make him super likable though!**

**I should have the next chapter up either later today or sometime tomorrow. Byes!**

**Review please?**


	4. Recognizing

**Here's chapter four. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Verse 4 – Recognizing

* * *

Atobe sighed as he sat up, gently rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and stifling a yawn. He could tell his hair was messed up, but that wasn't why he had woken up.

He had just had a brilliant idea in his dream.

One of the servants at his Chicago mansion came rushing in to help him dress and also brought him a very late lunch.

Atobe was then informed that one of his guests, Tezuka, had left the mansion shortly after lunchtime and was yet to return.

Once the servant was dismissed, Atobe smirked.

He reached for his private cell phone and used the speed dial function to reach the person he least wanted to talk to at the moment.

"Everything's going well, I believe," he spoke, clear English used for his companion.

"Is that so? We'll be there soon. Think you can handle everything until then?" the voice on the other end smirked.

"Of course," Atobe was annoyed, especially when the other hung up quickly. No one hung up on Atobe Keigo.

* * *

Tezuka still couldn't figure out why the name "Sakuno" sounded so familiar to him. He was sure he had heard it somewhere before. He dwelt on it while Aiden continued to ramble on about something or the other, only needing Tezuka to put in a random nod or a shake of the head to continue speaking.

When a smiling Fuji announced dinner, Aiden's hyperactivity increased and he jumped, skipped, _and_ frolicked to the dining room, a contemplative Tezuka following in his wake.

Fuji and Aiden set up the dinner table, which was large enough to seat eight, and refused Tezuka's offer on the basis that he was the guest. Tezuka felt a bit awkward and very useless.

Thankfully, he was saved by the doorbell. Which Fuji reached before he did, annoying him to no end. Fuji was trying get in Tezuka's way – his smile said it all. Tezuka sighed as he realized how much and how little Fuji had changed over the past six years.

"Why did you ring the doorbell?" Fuji asked as he came back inside, followed by two people – a male and a female.

The male, Tezuka guessed to be Aiden's brother. He could definitely see the likeness between the two, though the male seemed about a year older. He was also more muscular, though he had the same build as Aiden, and dressed more like Atobe, minus the flashy. He also had black hair, but his was completely plain, and their eyes were the same. The one thing was that his face looked stern and commanding, something that Aiden lacked.

The female, Tezuka picked out as Sakuno, and as he looked her over, even her face seemed familiar.

As everyone sat down for dinner, Fuji started introducing Tezuka to his companions.

"Tezuka, this is Tyler, Aiden's older brother. Tyler, this is Tezuka."

As Fuji paused, realization seemed to dawn on both Tyler and Sakuno's faces. Tezuka was getting a bit annoyed at how everyone seemed to know him, yet he had no idea who they were.

"And, this is Tyler's fiancée, Sakuno."

Both Sakuno and Fuji turned to him expectantly, though they also smiled when he stared back blankly.

"Do you remember Ryuuzaki-sensei?" Fuji asked, chuckling; Tezuka nodded his affirmation. "Remember, she had a granddaughter who followed Echizen around along with the other freshmen?"

"Shusuke-sempai!" Sakuno reprimanded Fuji with a playful glare; a light blush covered her face but soon disappeared.

Tezuka tried to remember. He hadn't really paid attention to Echizen's fan club – ever – since he was so busy trying to keep the team at top shape. He remembered a loudmouth boy, and two more boys who were quieter, and remembered liking the other two better. He also remembered another freshman, a loudmouth girl who would cheer – scream – during their matches. And then, he finally remembered Sakuno.

Sakuno, he realized, had been the quietest of the five, and they shyest. She didn't stand out in his memory, though he could picture her quite clearly now.

Tezuka looked her over.

The Sakuno in front of him looked and seemed nothing like what he remembered.

Sakuno's hair was cut shorter – he remembered Echizen always telling her that her hair was too long – just a few inches below her shoulder, and was curled. It also had highlights in it, blonde ones. He realized that people here had a thing about highlights in their hair.

Her body was definitely more mature – she had grown into a woman, after all, but Tezuka didn't focus on that too much. The biggest change in her wasn't her hair or her body, but her air. Tezuka could immediately sense the confidence and authority in her calm smile, and couldn't even find traces of her shyness. She didn't blush, or stutter, and carried herself as someone who knew where she stood. Her kindness, though, still remained. Her voice was louder, not in an annoying way, but it could actually be heard now.

Tezuka couldn't figure out whether it was the way her eyes lingered on his face for a while, or the way her hands gripped the cutlery, but there was something, just something, about her that seemed to scream sexiness. Tezuka acknowledged that she was beautiful, but wasn't attracted to her – after all, she already had a fiancé.

Dinner started and small talk ensued. Tezuka didn't really participate in the first half, which was mostly the other four talking about their day. Instead, he concentrated on the food.

Tezuka didn't know Fuji could cook. It wasn't the best he'd ever tasted, but it was enough to satisfy his taste buds and make him want seconds (though he didn't ask). It was just a bit spicy, but not overly so, and Tezuka found that he could stomach it. It reminded him of windy days spent walking and talking, or playing tennis, with Fuji.

Then, the conversation turned to him. Tyler, Sakuno, and, later, Aiden, bore him down with multiple questions, as if they were competing to see who could ask the most. He tried to answer to the best of his abilities, and was more than a little surprised when Sakuno didn't ask a single one about Echizen. Hadn't she been obsessed with him at one point? He knew obsessions, even if they went away, left impressions.

When Aiden joined in the questioning, he found himself trying to avoid Fuji's eyes. Aiden's questions were much more personal.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"A boyfriend?"

"No."

"Why not? Someone as handsome as you should easily be able to find a mate."

"I don't have the time."

Aiden didn't look convinced, and neither did Sakuno. Or Tyler, or Fuji. Tezuka felt cornered.

"Well, why are you here?" Tyler's question might have sounded rude, but he was honestly curious.

"My friend, Atobe Keigo, brought me to Chicago against my will."

"_The_ Atobe Keigo?" Tyler sounded surprised, and impressed.

"Yes."

"How do you know him?"

"We used to be rivals in junior and senior high."

"Did you ever like him?" Aiden's question caused Sakuno and Fuji to chuckle while Tezuka thought about what enormous consequences – chaos – that would bring.

He vehemently shook his head no. Atobe was gay – actually, almost everyone he knew from every rival team, and even his own, were gay, but that didn't mean he had to be.

Said Atobe was the one who saved Tezuka from Aiden's prying, innocent questions. He called at the worst time possible – or, in Tezuka's case, the best time – and demanded to know where Tezuka was, whether he was being raped, whether he had been kidnapped, etc., and when he was going to be back at the mansion.

Everyone around him roared with laughter as Atobe's voice was _very_ loud, and Tezuka felt the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'll be back soon, Atobe. Annoy Sanada or Yukimura while I'm not there," Tezuka finally said before hanging up.

"Aw, so you have to go now?"

Tezuka was really amused by how Aiden managed to sound like a ten year old kid. He nodded.

"Well, wait until after dessert, at least."

Tezuka realized he had no choice, though he had an aversion to most sweets.

"Don't worry Tezuka, it's not that sweet," Fuji smiled, reading his mind.

Tezuka nodded reluctantly.

"Thanks for dinner, love."

Aiden got up, gathered everyone's plates, and Fuji turned towards him. Their lips met in a soft, chaste kiss, and Tezuka found himself freezing for the second time that day.

The kiss was over as soon as it began, and Tezuka seemed to be the only one perturbed by it. He realized that Aiden and Fuji were going a bit belatedly. So he shouldn't have been surprised – it was only natural for couples to kiss, after all. He shook his thoughts away and focused on dessert instead.

Tezuka found out that he was having tiramisu for dessert. He smiled inwardly – he had always liked that back in high school, and even now.

* * *

Fuji watched in an introspective silence as Tezuka left, his smile abandoned. It was broken by strong arms wrapping around his waist and a soft kiss pressed to the side of his neck. He smiled once more, but didn't respond.

"You like him," Aiden stated, his breath warm against Fuji's skin.

"I used to like him," Fuji countered.

"Used to, huh?" Aiden chuckled. "I think you still do."

"**Saa…**" Fuji turned around and before Aiden could blink he was pressed up against the wall. Aiden quickly melted under Fuji's passionate kisses, and Fuji smirked as he reaffirmed that he never let anyone dominate him.

**TBC**

**So from now on, anything in the story that's said in Japanese will be in bold if English is used in most conversations. That means most conversations with Aiden, and/or Tyler. All other conversations will be Japanese in nature, and I will assume that you realize that.**

**How was it? Did you like it? Review, please, and let me know?**


	5. Accepting

**This was an interesting chapter to write. Anyway, since it's longer than usual, you only get one update! ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Verse 5 - Accepting**

Tezuka wondered, once again, why he'd allowed Atobe to bring drag him to America. Atobe had finally told his three companions exactly what he planned to do with all of them during those two weeks.

"I have a…ah, _friend_ who stays here, not too far away. Though his company is never going to as magnificent as ore-sama's, I have decided to have you all meet him. And, there is a surprise!"

Atobe's smile was just a tiny bit annoying, but once more, Yukimura, Sanada, and a woeful feeling Tezuka got in his limousine and drove away.

The black tinted windows prevented Tezuka from actually staring out at their surroundings. Instead, he had to turn his head back to his present, headache inducing company and stared at them instead.

Atobe and Yukimura were chatting (neither of them were really sure about what, but the two kept smiling anyway) when Sanada decided to finally talk.

"I heard you left yesterday evening," he simply commented.

"Yes. I wanted to see what I could of Chicago before Atobe drowned us all in pointless socialization."

Tezuka's poor attempt at socialization drew a slight smile out of Sanada – after all, they both hated it.

"And did you see anything interesting?"

"I ran into Fuji."

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "Fuji…Seigaku's resident tensai, right?"

Tezuka simply nodded.

"He stopped communicating with us after he left. I thought he was going to California?" Yukimura's sudden interruption was unexpected, but it posed a good question for Tezuka's mind to ponder.

"Oh, Fuji Shusuke? I forgot to tell you guys. Apparently, he wanted to do his MBA at the University of Chicago. He's been here for the past two years."

"…" Tezuka didn't say anything, but his internal curiosity was peaked. How did Atobe know this?

"How do you know? Like I said before, he stopped communicating with all of us." Yukimura sounded just a tiny bit angry, but you could never tell with him.

"He's my friend's boyfriend," Atobe replied simply. "Though you're right. I don't know why, but he hasn't replied to a single email ore-sama has sent him."

All the people in the limousine rolled their eyes. They would have escaped from Atobe's clutches too, if they could.

Tezuka wondered if the person he was supposed to meet was Aiden. The other boy was friendly enough, but Tezuka was just a bit wary of him. He didn't know why, but he had some issues with the boy being around Fuji and being so comfortable. Who cared if they'd been going out for three years? It still didn't give Aiden the right to be so familiar with the other. Frankly, it was a bit annoying to see Aiden always clinging to Fuji. And why was Fuji allowing himself to be touched like that anyway? It wasn't like –

"Ah, we're here!" Atobe's voice broke through Tezuka's thoughts and he cursed internally when he realized he'd started rambling. Why _did_ he care what Fuji did with the other boy?

* * *

Fuji looked up when there was a knock on the door, not at all looking forward to the party that his boyfriend was throwing in honor of…well, Fuji wasn't really sure why Aiden was throwing a party. Aiden sometimes randomly liked to throw parties without prior notice to Fuji. He himself had only _accidentally_ found out about it today.

Sakuno got to the door before him, followed closely by Aiden. He let them, since he barely had the energy to do anything. A voice in the back of his head pointed out that this was because he had no motivation, but he didn't really listen. He never listened.

The voices Fuji heard sounded familiar, but Fuji didn't wonder why. He'd (unwillingly) met Aiden's associates a thousand times and all their voices sounded the same to him. It was just another pointless party where the only type of dancing was the most boring – ballroom dancing. He preferred bars and dance clubs, not only because of the less strict dress code, but also because of the freedom of movement and action that was socially acceptable.

"Ahaha! Well then, please, come in this way. If you keep walking down the hall, you'll end up directly in the ballroom. Others have already started to arrive, so please feel free to make yourselves comfortable and socialize." Aiden's voice sounded just like it ever did, warm and eager to please. Tyler may have been the one with the brains in the family, but their business would die without Aiden's social skills.

Sakuno came back in the room. She wore a pretty, light red, designer strapless that ended flaring around her knees – a cocktail dress. It hugged her well, and the look was accented by the dark pink corsage on her left hand and her red stilettos (also designer). Her hair was pulled back in a messy, yet sexy ponytail, the layers around her face left to hang. Her bare neck was clothed by a silver chain holding an unusual pendant: a red sphere with random silver dropping off.

Yes, Sakuno looked magnificent, and if Fuji was straight, he would have immediately been knocked off his feet.

"Come on, Shusuke-sempai," she said, as Tyler had already gotten up to follow after Aiden. "Everyone's here and you can't hide from them."

Fuji smirked, taking that as a challenge. "Oh, really? Why don't you try me?"

Sakuno shook her head. "Sorry, sempai, I'm under strict orders not to let you out of my sight. You won't escape this time."

Fuji smiled once more. They would see about that…

* * *

Tezuka was not at all surprised to see Aiden at the door behind Sakuno (who looked exquisite, he realized). The older man was dressed in a simple tuxedo – black, with a red tie and boutonniere. His hair looked really neat – with a start, Tezuka realized just how messy it had looked yesterday – and was combed back. Tezuka couldn't even see the electric blue highlights, though he wasn't sure how the other hid them.

"Ah! Keigo! You're finally here!" The excitement in Aiden's voice was genuine.

Atobe and Aiden exchanged formalities as Tezuka finally realized why they were all dressed semi-formally. Atobe had even managed to get him in a lavender tuxedo with a royal purple tie and boutonniere, Yukimura in black with a dark blue tie and light blue boutonniere, and Sanada in gold (the non-shiny kind) with a burnt sienna tie and a white boutonniere.

Tezuka had realized fairly quickly that Atobe liked dressing people up and seemed to have an obsession with boutonnieres. He had, however, already figured out that this was going to be a black tie event.

Then, Aiden noticed him.

"Kunimitsu!" he almost screamed. "I didn't – oh, of course! You said Keigo brought you here!"

Tezuka nodded while Atobe said with a smile, "Yes, but Tezuka is definitely not grateful. I'm pretty sure this is the last place he wants to be."

"Ahaha! Well then, please, come in this way. If you keep walking down the hall, you'll end up directly in the ballroom. Others have already started to arrive, so please feel free to make yourselves comfortable and socialize."

Tezuka and Sanada both cringed at the word socialize and decided to simply linger in the back.

One thing that Tezuka hadn't realized: their household was _huge_. He had only seen the outside, the dining room, and the living room yesterday. However, from the front, you couldn't tell that the back held a ballroom and several other rooms that Tezuka didn't know the name of.

It reminded Tezuka of Atobe's mansion.

At the party itself, Tezuka was met with many people with champagne glasses full of the gold drink. The females were giggling in their high pitched voices in a way that sounded incredibly fake while the men just smiled on and chuckled every now and then. The women wore either conservative cocktail dresses or evening gowns, and they all had corsages. The men were all in tuxedos.

About ten or fifteen minutes passed as Atobe led them around and introduced them to his colleagues and associates, and then made small talk with the older men.

To Tezuka, it seemed as if with the slightest push everything would fall out of order.

A light tinkling filled the room, and Tezuka turned to see tapping a light, silver spoon against a champagne glass. He would have snorted if it wasn't completely out of character for him. How pompous, he thought, instead.

However, that had gotten everyone's attention.

All the noise stopped and Tezuka could hear the random shuffles of people's feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to welcome you to my home." Aiden went on to discuss something about progress and introduced Tyler.

"As you all know, Clanes has been spreading worldwide fairly quickly, due to the continuous efforts of our father, and of our dedicated workers. However, we have a vision. This vision shall be presented tomorrow, when someone you should all know will join us. Please, let me introduce my colleague and dear friend, Keigo Atobe."

Tyler stepped aside and Atobe took his place. Tezuka hadn't even noticed Atobe leave (which must have been a while ago, seeing the distance between the stage and where they were).

Atobe smirked. Tezuka could tell he was in his element.

"Progress is well and all, but that is something we must save for meetings. Tonight, we must have fun. So, now, without further ado–"

Atobe cut himself off and the lights also turned off. Tezuka heard the all too familiar snap of Atobe's fingers and the room was immediately filled with a silver glow.

Everyone went back to socializing and some people even danced and a slow jazz melody played from the stage.

Tezuka really wished he had stayed back at the mansion.

* * *

Fuji looked around, trying to make sure that no one he knew spotted him. Especially the women – they were honestly, the worst. He had missed the speeches that he knew were usually given, but they never had anything to do with him anyway, so it didn't really matter.

Due to the lack of ostentatious décor in the ballroom, there wasn't anywhere he could hide, not even behind the dining tables. And Sakuno, true to her word, was keeping a sharp eye on him.

That's when he felt a hawk like gaze fall upon him. Crap, his mind immediately supplied.

"Shusuke? Is that you?" The deep rumble belonged to a man in his thirties. "My God, it's been ages since I last saw you at one of these parties!"

Fuji knew the man – though always conveniently forgot his name – and despised him. He had met the man during an (extremely unfortunate) incident at a party about two years ago. Since then, the man had hit on him like there was no tomorrow, while still somehow abiding by the social etiquette that the Clanes' presence demanded. It wasn't subtle, not at all, but it was definitely enough to not make gullible Aiden suspect a thing. Fuji often felt like he was being stalked and it was during those times when he wanted to revert back to his old self and seriously damage the other man's mind. HE hated that he always had to hold himself back – else, his boyfriend's business would suffer. A lot.

"It has been a while," Fuji commented, trying to find an excuse to leave the man's presence.

"Yes, it really has. What are you doing here then?"

"Um…Aiden made me."

The man erupted in jolly sounding laughter, though Fuji had yet to see what was so funny. "That _boy_ always drags you around everywhere, doesn't he?"

Fuji resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Couldn't what's-his-name come up with anything better than the "you don't need a boy, you need a man" thing?

"I don't mind." That, Fuji knew, was an almost complete and total lie. But, he never minded for long.

"Yes, well, would you like a drink? Come with me, we must catch up!" What's-his-name reached out his arm in a protective shield around Fuji, blocking his way of escape, and Fuji cursed.

He then looked around for Sakuno, who was supposedly not going to allow him to leave her sight. She was nowhere to be seen.

Fuji had no choice but to go along.

* * *

Tezuka was bored out of his mind. Atobe had pretty much abandoned them after the speech, instead choosing to dance with some girl. A part of Tezuka knew that Atobe was required to attend to her as per his raising, but Tezuka was still pissed off at Atobe for dragging him here in the first place.

Right now, he and Sanada were following Yukimura around, trying to see if there was anything they could do.

Yukimura was headed towards one of the waiters carrying around glasses of champagne, with style, at about shoulder level. However, before Yukimura could grab three glasses for the three of them, an arm reached out and grabbed two of the three.

Sanada and Tezuka looked at each other and really hoped that Yukimura wouldn't do anything rash.

The three turned to look at the man who had intercepted them, and Tezuka had the strange feeling that Yukimura was about to demand their glasses back.

* * *

"Ah, there we are. Here you go Shusuke. I know this is your favorite." What's-his-name smiled at Fuji, offering him the champagne.

Fuji smiled and accepted, though champagne was far from his favorite.

"Fuji?" asked a dead familiar voice.

Both he and his unwelcome companion turned to see who it was. Fuji's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yukimura…"

Fuji was honestly surprised to see the blue haired boy there. There was a short moment of silence before both Tezuka and Sanada stepped out behind Yukimura.

It didn't take him long to figure out what was going on. Tezuka had said something about being dragged to America by Atobe. It was almost impossible that Atobe wasn't at the party, and knowing Atobe, he had probably dragged the other three with him.

The three were dressed for black tie affairs, which was probably going to be accredited to Atobe, but they all looked good. Especially Tezuka.

There was light coughing beside him and Fuji remembered his manners.

"Yukimura, Sanada, Tezuka, this is…" Fuji trailed off, partly because he didn't know the man's name, and partly because he knew the man liked to introduce himself.

"Albert Jeane, at your service," the man nodded his head lightly and held out his hand.

So that's what his name was? Fuji would make sure to forget it once more.

"Seiichi Yukimura," Yukimura replied curtly, while shaking Albert's hand. "These are my colleagues, Genichirou Sanada and Kunimitsu Tezuka. My colleague, Keigo – ah, Mr. Atobe, and we were called here for an important meeting."

Fuji tried not to chuckle. He could immediately tell that Yukimura was testing what's-his-name, while still letting him know of his close connections. It had the desired effect.

"Mr. Atobe? Well, well, Fuji, I didn't know that you had colleagues like these people. You must do me the honor of your company."

Fuji turned to Yukimura and he knew the other wanted to roll his eyes too. Fuji wanted to tell what's-his-name that this was the 21st century. No one really talked like that anymore.

"As riveting as that sounds, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to borrow these four from you, Albert."

Sakuno to the rescue! Fuji let out a relieved sigh and immediately turned away from what's-his-name.

"Excuse us, please," Yukimura nodded to the man and the four left with Sakuno.

Fuji had never felt so grateful to her. Unlike Aiden, she could actually see what the man always tried to pull on Fuji and why Fuji couldn't do anything. She had even tried to talk to Aiden about it, but that boy was eternally blind and refused to see the bad in anyone.

"**Where did you go? I've been searching everywhere for you!**" Sakuno asked in plain Japanese. She had lived in America for three years now, and though she was great with English, she much preferred Japanese.

"**I thought you were supposed to keep a sharp eye on me, huh?**" Fuji teased back. He had no idea how the two had lost each other. It must've been when he was busy looking for escape routes.

"**Shusuke-sempai, you know better than to go near Albert.**"

"**Yeah, because I go looking for him every chance I get.**" Fuji loved sarcasm. "**So that's his name, eh?**"

"**You **_**forgot**_** it again?**" Sakuno chuckled. "**Well, whatever. Since you've found some friends, I'm hoping you won't be as quick to leave. But I'm watching you.**"

Sakuno did the whole thing where she pointed to her eyes and then Fuji's as Fuji chuckled. She then turned to the other three men who had just been trailing behind them and asked them to make sure that Fuji didn't leave the room (or their sight).

* * *

Tezuka watched, slightly amusedly, the silly banter between Fuji and Ryuuzaki's granddaughter. It seemed they had become close without him noticing (though how he was supposed to notice that from across the world didn't cross his mind).

He nodded lightly to Ryuuzaki's request and watched her as she walked away.

"**Fuji, where do you think you're going?**" Yukimura's amused voice brought Tezuka out of his reverie and he noticed that Fuji, once again, was trying to sneak away.

"**Damn!**" Fuji shook his head as he walked back. Tezuka took that chance to actually see what the boy looked like that night.

Fuji was decked up in a light blue, almost white, tuxedo, with a red tie and boutonniere. His hair was laid about his face as usual, and his eyes were closed in his eternal smile, but he looked very smart. And sexy – Tezuka stopped his thoughts right there and tried not to wonder about why he'd suddenly thought that. Being around Fuji had always given him a headache, always made him confused, and apparently six years apart had yet to change that.

The night continued with various attempts from Fuji to try and leave. They'd gotten close to the door at least twenty five times, and had almost lost Fuji over a hundred. That boy hadn't lost his tricky ways, and Tezuka was sure that if it were not for Yukimura, Fuji would've gotten back to his own room.

At around midnight, Aiden once again got his guests' attention. "I have an announcement that I would like to make tonight. Well, it's more of a question, but anyway! Shusuke Fuji, would you please come up here?"

* * *

Fuji was surprised. Why was Aiden calling him up on stage? There was an unsettling feeling in his stomach that just told him that something was about to take place, and he wasn't exactly sure whether it was going to be good or bad. After moving from Japan, he'd learned to avoid most bad things and had gotten rid of his sadism (well, at least the sadistic actions). So why was the urge to decapitate someone crawling up his spine so strongly?

Everyone turned to look at him, so he made his way (slowly) up to the stage. The hall was silent.

Fuji had, by now, figured out exactly what Aiden was going to do. He wondered if there was a way to stop him, but he was well acquainted with Aiden's one track mind and knew he couldn't.

* * *

Tezuka watched Fuji like everyone else, and wondered if anyone else felt that something bad was going to happen. He wanted to stop Fuji from going up on stage, wanted to quickly rush the boy out of that room and leave the house.

But, he watched with a stoic face as Fuji climbed the steps, and as Aiden prepared.

Aiden got down on one knee. Tezuka realized that was supposed to be a romantic gesture alluding to something Tezuka really hoped Fuji wouldn't say yes to.

* * *

Fuji was silent as he let Aiden do what he wanted to.

"Shusuke Fuji, I have dated you for three years and have known you for twice that time. I believe that is enough time for me to confirm that you are my soul mate, the one I'm meant to be with."

As Aiden paused to take a breath, there were a few gasps of surprise and adoration from the audience.

"I have loved you as I have yet to love anyone else. I doubt I ever will."

Aiden cleared his throat and continued.

"'_Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!_'"

Fuji immediately knew that Aiden was attempting to quote Shakespeare.

"'_It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night_

_Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear,_

_Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear._

_So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows_

_As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows._'"

Fuji would have laughed at his boyfriend's futile attempts to sound romantic, had he not felt like crying.

"'_The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,_

_And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand._'"

Aiden reached for Fuji's hand, so Fuji held it out.

"'_Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!_

_For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night._'"

The audience leaned forward, and Fuji did too.

"My dear, lovely, Shusuke, there is no one else I'd rather spend my time with. I think about you all the time, even when I'm supposed to be working…"

Some chuckled and Aiden quickly pulled out a box with a ring.

"Would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

Silence. The audience waited with baited breath.

Fuji cast a peripheral eye out to see if there was anyone against this. Tezuka was the only one to catch his eye. He saw something reflected in the boy's face and made a decision right then.

Fuji turned back to Aiden and nodded lightly. Then, he whispered, "Yes!"

**TBC**

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* * *

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Hm...so now, Fuji and Aiden are going to get married...poor Tezuka...

**Review please?**


	6. Awakening

**Warnings: Slight swearing and lime in this chapter. I'd rather you didn't skip over it though...cause it's funny? It's not that bad, and if you're reading this story, then I'm sure that you can handle this.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I've really appreciated all of them and they make me really happy!**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**Verse 6 - Awakening**

Tezuka seemed to have a constant, ongoing headache. He hadn't slept well after the party was finally over (around two in the morning), and had woken up at his usual time. Lack of sleep was something he could deal with, as he had spent many a sleepless night staring at the ceiling after Fuji had left, during the Nationals Tournament, etc. However, lack of sleep with an over energetic Atobe, an evil looking Yukimura, and an annoyed Sanada was not on his List of Favorites.

"Tezuka! Finally, you're up!" Atobe's voice was overly cheerful, yet still confident and cocky. "I thought you were going to sleep forever!"

Tezuka resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He had woken up at his usual time, five-thirty, and had been reading. Atobe had bounded down the stairs two hours later and had taken the little peace that Tezuka was starting to find.

"Fine. Don't respond. Anyway, today is very important. Hurry up and get dressed!"

The last few words were an order that Tezuka wouldn't have followed had Yukimura's smile of imminent death not been hovering behind the egoistic man.

By eight, they had arrived at Aiden's house, once again. Tezuka faintly wondered whether he was doomed to spend the rest of his vacation over here.

When they finally arrived, the house seemed cheerful. Tyler and Sakuno greeted them quickly before both leaving, Tyler for the meeting's preparations, and Sakuno for her summer classes.

Aiden stayed behind and served them all breakfast which Tezuka was sure Sakuno had made, though Aiden tried to claim otherwise. By eight-forty-five, it was only Tezuka, Sanada, and Yukimura, as Atobe and Aiden had left to attend aforementioned meeting.

"Tezuka…where's Fuji?" Yukimura asked quietly.

Right on cue, Yukimura's cell rang. Yukimura spoke into it for a short while before dutifully handing the phone over to Tezuka. "It's Aiden," he murmured.

"Ah, Kunimitsu? Can you hear me? Damn technology, being so confusing."

Tezuka nodded, before realizing the other couldn't see him, and spoke quietly. "Yes."

"Okay, so I think you've probably noticed that Shu isn't up yet. Unless, he's already there with you, in which case, could you please give the phone to him?"

"He's not here."

"Oh, well, okay. So, I know this might be a bit troublesome, but could I ask one of you to please wake him up? It's Saturday, and for some reason, he likes to sleep in on all Saturday's."

"…" Tezuka knew that, since Fuji had almost _always_ been late to Saturday morning practices.

"…I'll take that as a yes. Thanks a lot Kunimitsu! You're a lifesaver! To get to our room, follow the hallway from yesterday and take a left at the end. Go through the first door you see, and take the first left. Next take a right, and it should be on the left. Ignore the door that says his name, that's actually the guest bedroom. Oh, and send Seiichi and Genichirou my love! Tell Fuji I love him and to make sure everything is ready for tonight! Good luck! Bye!"

After promptly hanging up, Tezuka handed Yukimura his phone back. "He sends his regards." Tezuka nodded towards the two of them. He wasn't actually about to say that Aiden was sending his love – it sounded more fruity coming from Tezuka than anyone else.

"Anything else?" Yukimura had that knowing voice with him again.

"He wants us to wake Fuji up."

All three of them knew that the task would just end up being Tezuka's. Yukimura wasn't about to try, and he'd somehow prevent Sanada from trying too.

"Well, good luck with that. Geni and I have plans for today, so we'll see you later, okay?"

Before Tezuka even had a chance to reply, Yukimura was up and halfway out the door. Sanada followed after, dutifully, but gave Tezuka a parting nod and a look that said that he felt sorry for him.

And, once again, Tezuka was left alone in a place he didn't know – a stranger's house. He figured he might as well put himself in known company, even if said company induced migraines.

The house was exactly the maze Tezuka expected it to be. Luckily, he'd memorized the directions to Fuji almost as fast as Aiden had spoken, and he somehow managed not to get lost.

As Aiden had said, he ignored the door that said Fuji's name and instead tried the one with Aiden's name.

The room was pretty big, bigger than his own back in Japan, but Tezuka had honestly expected more of Aiden's obvious liking for grand things. He then remembered that Fuji liked smaller spaces. Apparently, they had compromised.

The walls were colored a light blue, the kind that you saw in commercial designs, and were accented with white. The king-sized bed was slightly right of the door, but occupied the middle space of the room. Three doors next around the room, Tezuka guessed, lead to the closets and the bathroom.

The only thing that really stood out to Tezuka was the numerous paintings in the room. They were all different, ranging from a little girl playing the piano to a river cutting its way through the earth. The only deviations from this theme were the paintings near one of the windows (there were three), which were all cacti. It was then that Tezuka realized that he hadn't seen a single one of the pointy specimen anywhere in the house – that was strange, because Fuji would have to be dead to be separated from his precious cactus plants.

On the bed was a lump occupying the left side, making a mess of the covers; the right side looked perfectly neat. Every now and then, the covers would rise softly, and then descend; though Tezuka couldn't hear it, he knew it was Fuji's rhythmic breathing.

He sighed and set himself to the task of waking up the tensai. It wasn't going to be easy, since you never could tell what Fuji would do once asleep.

Tezuka moved next to Fuji quietly, and tried to shake where he assumed the other boy's shoulder was. "Fuji," he said in his best buchou-voice, hoping that it still affected Fuji. "Fuji, wake up."

All Tezuka was answered with was a groan and Fuji turning away from him.

"Fuji!" Tezuka tried again, still trying to shake the other man's shoulder. Again, he got a groan in response.

Tezuka sighed. He grabbed the covers that Fuji had smartly wound around himself and pulled them off in a smooth motion.

* * *

Fuji shivered as soon as the covers were off. The room was cold and the previous night, he'd only had time to put on pajama pants before he collapsed onto his bed. Vaguely, he wondered why Aiden even bothered trying to wake him up anymore. The boy never succeeded, but he always seemed to try so hard.

He'd been having another dream about his old team – they'd gotten more recent since Tezuka had decided to pop up in his life after six years – and he'd been enjoying the dream. He'd realized how much he missed everyone. They had all been the best of friends and he wondered how the time had passed so fast. He had honestly meant to keep in contact; it just…never worked out how he had planned.

"Fuji!" Aiden's voice called again. Fuji wondered why Aiden was calling him by his last name. He almost never did that unless he was mad. If he was, Fuji would make sure he wasn't for long.

A warm hand touched his shoulder once more and he was being shaken much more roughly this time. It didn't wake him up at all. "Come on, Aiden," he said instead, in pure English; "cut me some slack and let me just sleep."

Aiden's hand didn't retreat, but seemed to still for just a moment.

"Fuji, wake up," came the accented reply. Fuji didn't really notice. If Aiden wanted him to wake up, then the other had better be ready for the consequences as well.

As the hand continued to try to wake him, Fuji grabbed it and pulled its owner down on top of himself, never once opening his eyes. He could already tell it was too bright.

Aiden tried to get away from Fuji, but Fuji didn't really care. He already had a vice grip on the man's body and didn't plan to let go. So, instead, as Aiden got up, Fuji was pulled along with him.

* * *

Once Tezuka was standing, trying not to be too affected by the fact that Fuji had almost kissed him, he tried to coax Fuji's hands into letting him go. He knew that Fuji thought he was Aiden, but that didn't really help the situation or make him feel better.

Fuji's arms were clinging hard to Tezuka's shoulders in a grip that made him want to wince. In a blink, Fuji's legs were secured behind him as well, and Tezuka had to use his arm to make sure he didn't lose balance. Fuji was forcing Tezuka to carry him, probably still thinking that he was Aiden, and Tezuka didn't want to end up in another awkward position if he fell. It wasn't like Fuji was the lightest thing in the world.

* * *

"Hm…Aiden? I've told you many times not to try and wake me up, right?" Fuji paused, knowing Aiden wasn't going to answer. It was more for dramatic effect. "Then why are you?"

Fuji, once again, didn't give the man who was carrying him any chance to answer. Instead, he attacked the other's neck. He started kissing down where he knew the tanned skin was, searching for that one spot that made Aiden draw in a breath. Once he thought he found it, Fuji bit down. Hard.

* * *

Tezuka winced when Fuji bit down. His brain had decided to abandon him right then, as he had no idea what Fuji was doing. Why was the other boy kissing his neck? Why did Fuji bite him? Why was he now sucking at the area that he'd bitten?

Tezuka knew nothing of how couples behaved – he'd never had a girlfriend, or boyfriend – but he hoped that people didn't make a habit of biting each other. It seemed a bit savage, and it hurt.

"Fuji," he tried again. He grimaced when he noticed that his buchou-voice had disappeared and sounded quite weak now.

* * *

Fuji smirked as he heard the change in Aiden's tone. It was a bit early for him to give in already, but Fuji didn't particularly care. He stopped sucking on what he was sure was going to be a very proud hickey, and instead kissed Aiden full in the face.

Aiden seemed surprised, and didn't respond well.

* * *

Tezuka's only coherent thought was 'What the fuck?' Once the sucking had stopped, he'd thought that Fuji would let him go. Instead, the tensai had kissed him.

Sometime during all of this, Tezuka had been pushed back against one of the walls. He felt incredibly trapped.

Tezuka didn't move as Fuji seemed to make his way all over his lips. He wasn't about to respond to kiss from someone else's fiancé. He wasn't really sure what to do anyway.

After a while, Fuji started nipping at his lips. Every now and then, something wet would touch his lips lightly, but would retreat quickly was well, as if it was waiting for something. Tezuka had no idea what.

* * *

Fuji was starting to get a bit annoyed by Aiden's lack of response. He'd been doing almost everything the other boy liked, and still no response.

* * *

Tezuka's eyes widened the moment Fuji ground himself against him, and his jaw slackened just a little bit. Before he could focus on the tingly feeling that just made its way from his groin throughout his body, his mouth was invaded by a searching tongue.

Tezuka was too bewildered to push Fuji away.

* * *

Fuji explored his Aiden's mouth fully, mapping it out as he'd done countless times before. A part of his slowly awakening mind registered that Aiden wasn't kissing him back, but he wasn't in the mood to care. Aiden could wait to say whatever he needed to until Fuji was done with him.

That was when Fuji noticed the airy, familiar but still unfamiliar smell hanging around Aiden. It was a quaint mix of lavender, mint, and milk tea.

Fuji smiled into the kiss as he remembered that Tezuka had always smelled exactly like that, and still did. "Say, Aiden, why do you smell like…Tezuka…?"

* * *

When Fuji pulled away, Tezuka immediately transformed his features into a glare. The last part had sounded both like a question and as if Fuji was just recognizing him.

Tezuka told himself that he was immensely happy that Fuji had stopped kissing him. He'd felt violated and everything had been completely against his will. He hadn't enjoyed the experience at all. It was almost a chant that he repeated to himself, over and over, as he tried not to focus too much on the fact that Fuji had a hard-on against his lower abdomen, and that he himself was slightly turned on as well.

He had _not_ enjoyed it, and that was that.

Tezuka continued to glare at Fuji, hoping that he seemed angry and convincing.

* * *

Fuji was cursing in his mind in three different languages – Japanese, English, and French – as his sleep addled brain finally figured out what the hell was going on.

He'd mistaken Tezuka for Aiden. And given him a hickey. And kissed the living daylights out of him. And gotten _really_ turned on from the whole thing.

'Well, damn,' he finally concluded, as he let go of Tezuka and landed on his own feet.

Tezuka was glaring at him, appearing very angry indeed. However, Fuji personally thought that it would've been more convincing if Tezuka didn't look so dazed.

"Are you awake now?" Tezuka's words sounded like steel to Fuji's ears, but he picked out the very slight shake in them anyway. Fuji nodded. "Good."

Fuji stepped back even more as Tezuka obviously wanted to leave the room. A part of Fuji was surprised that the older man hadn't assigned him laps for the whole ordeal.

* * *

As Tezuka finally left the room, without looking back even once, or saying anything else to Fuji, he could feel the tensai's eyes following his every move. It wasn't unnerving, but Tezuka wished Fuji would just look away for now.

Tezuka decidedly wasn't in the best of moods. He doubted anyone would be after being kissed first thing in the morning, against their will, by the sexy genius that was Fuji Shusuke. Yes, he'd finally admitted to himself that Fuji was sexy. That didn't mean a thing, though, so he didn't pay it too much attention.

Tezuka was focused more on how to calm down. Without noticing, his heart was pounding loudly against his chest, and most of his blood seemed to be concentrated near his lower abdomen. He felt slightly dizzy, and tried even harder not to remember the feel of Fuji's lips, his tongue, the way he – Tezuka stopped thinking, knowing it wouldn't – shouldn't – go any further than that.

* * *

Fuji felt a bit bad for forcing himself on Tezuka. Knowing Tezuka like he did, he was fairly sure that was Tezuka's first kiss, and he'd decided to let Tezuka go when he'd been rejected. He had even prevented himself from thinking too much about the other after he'd moved to America. He hadn't moped around or appeared depressed. Instead, he'd jumped into his new life and made new friends.

Fuji had thought it was working. Of course he still thought about Tezuka at least once a day (often, many, many, many more times). He'd liked the other for over six years, until Tezuka had become one of Fuji's obsessions. He couldn't simply forget about him like that.

That didn't mean he would go around kissing him just because he was still sleepy. It wasn't like he still liked him or anything.

Fuji looked over and stared intently as Tezuka left his room. The other's body was completely stiff and robotically controlled. Fuji was pretty sure that if Tezuka bent over at that moment, he'd break his spine.

As Tezuka turned to walk out the door, Fuji saw evidence of his effect on the other, which made him smirk.

'Well, at least Tezuka had responded to him,' he thought. It made his unknown effort worth it, and Fuji was genuinely smiling as he made his way over to the bathroom to take care of his own problem.

* * *

Tezuka shivered as soon as he felt Fuji smirked. He decided that no, he didn't want to know.

**TBC**

* * *

**Okay, sorry, I just had to write that. There's a point to all of this (Tezuka and Fuji get to spend the day alone :D), but this seemed the easiest way to make the whole time awkward. I know I'm not good at writing this stuff - first time attempting to write lime, and you can see how bad it is, right?**

**Anyway, please review and let me know how you liked the chapter! If possible, please tell me how I might improve my lime/lemon writing. Though I don't plan for there to be any lemons in this fic, there will be many, _many,_ in it's sequel, so I have to get good at it. **

**REVIEW away please!**


	7. Talking

**Verse 7 - Talking**

Fuji quietly made his way to the kitchen, where he expected the others to be. Then, he remembered that both Tyler and Aiden had a meeting that day, and Sakuno had her summer class. So he was going to be alone with Tezuka.

He made himself a cup of milk tea while he waited for his breakfast to heat. Sakuno didn't believe in the idea that a drink and a slice of bread was enough for breakfast, so she always (when she had the time) made full breakfasts of different kinds. Today's breakfast was a full Japanese breakfast – rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki, natto, nori, and grilled fish. Fuji allowed his smile to widen just a little; he 'd only realized how much he loved Japanese food after too much exposure to American cuisine, and Sakuno always made exactly what he liked.

As he set down his food on the table, Fuji quickly glanced up and murmured a quick "good morning" to Tezuka. He had already decided that they didn't need to talk about what had happened earlier. It had been completely accidental and a total mistake. He knew it would also save Tezuka much embarrassment. As Tezuka had clearly told him before, he wasn't gay.

"Good morning," Tezuka simply replied. He then reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he handed to Fuji.

Fuji looked the note carefully over. It was written in Aiden's perfect print, with a few deviations that Fuji knew Aiden liked.

_Shusuke,_

_The meeting won't be over until around five or six. Tyler and I will have to stay back a bit later (around eight-ish?) to finish up everything. Don't worry about making dinner. Sakuno says she'll go out with a couple of friends. XD_

_Your old friends, Seiichi, Genichirou, and Kunimitsu are going to be fairly idle today. Keigo's with us at the meeting. I heard Seiichi and Genichirou talking about doing something, but Kunimitsu doesn't seem to have any plans. I wouldn't be bothering you too much if I asked you to entertain him today, right? :D _

_Oh, and, also, today seems like a good day to go dancing. I'm sure that you'll accept this as a sorry for dragging you around yesterday (though, somehow, you still managed to escape…how?). We're going to the usual place right after work. See you there, hopefully! ;p_

_XOXO, you __dear fiancé,_

_Aiden_

Fuji continued smiling throughout the whole note. It sounded just like Aiden, and Fuji was glad that Aiden was actually bothering to apologize for the nightmare last night had been: all the classical music; the dimmed, yet not completely dark lights; the fake laughter; the bright designer clothes. It had all been a bit too much for Fuji after Aiden's proposal, and through the murmur's of the crowd, he'd been able to escape.

"Thank you," Fuji commented to Tezuka, still smiling as usual. The stoic man simply nodded in acknowledgement, but went back to doing what he previously had been – staring blankly at the wall.

Fuji smiled internally – Tezuka hadn't changed that much since he'd last seen him. He hadn't grown more than half a centimeter since Seigaku (the middle school), and though he looked just a bit less muscular, he still had his commanding I-will-assign-you-laps-if-you-annoy-me-even-a-little-bit air about him. His personality and mannerisms hadn't changed either: Fuji remembered Tezuka often used to stare blankly at the wall when he had something to think about, and it would continue for hours upon hours (Fuji had once actually stared at the wall along with him for that length of time) unless someone interrupted his thoughts.

And Fuji felt like talking to Tezuka for once.

"So, we're by ourselves again, huh?" Fuji face palmed internally for his lame attempt. He blamed it on not having talked to Tezuka for six years. Communication was bound to be awkward, right?

Tezuka, himself, simply nodded and accompanied it with a quiet "hn".

Fuji stared intently at Tezuka while he ate his breakfast – he knew Tezuka would break sooner or later. And, with Tezuka, it was much easier to speak once you had his full attention.

After about five minutes, Tezuka broke. "What?" he asked Fuji bluntly, his eyes holding the same question.

Fuji continued to eat his rice. "How are you, Tezuka?" His voice was quiet and controlled, yet teasing and openly friendly, a very obvious reminder of their middle and high school days. It was fully of sincerity.

He chanced a glance at Tezuka eyes, immediately knowing from experience that Tezuka would simply want to answer with a truthful, but vague, "fine". His own eyes were open making sure Tezuka got the message. His eyes never really lost their power of making people react however he wanted them to.

"…" Tezuka didn't answer immediately. Fuji could tell Tezuka was trying phrase whatever he wanted to say correctly. The taller stoic had always been bad at communication.

"The team basically fell apart after you left…" Tezuka started. Fuji also knew from experience that Tezuka often required a lot of input from his partner to continue speaking.

"There were only two weeks left of school anyway. It didn't matter _that_ much," Fuji provided.

"I suppose…"

The two were still staring at each other, Tezuka seemingly lost in a world of old memories, and Fuji anticipating Tezuka's answer.

"I went to Tokyo University," Tezuka tried again, to which Fuji nodded. At that time, he had actually tried to keep in contact with his friends. "It was…surprising. I met many new people, and made multiple acquaintances. I work with some of them now."

"Really? What are they like? What line of work?" Fuji supplied once again.

He hadn't missed that Tezuka had said acquaintances and not friends. Fuji decided to question that later.

"I don't really know. I only see them for work related matters, if ever, since they always come to me for help. I did an MBA and now I'm starting at one of Atobe's companies."

Fuji couldn't help it. He started chuckling. "Leave it to you, Tezuka, to see someone regularly for more than a year and still not make friends with them." Fuji then continued chuckling.

Tezuka simply deadpanned at Fuji, but the tensai could see the amusement in the other's eyes. It was true. Fuji was always the one who made friends for the both of them, since he was more social, but Tezuka was infinitely better at keeping contact.

"Well, what about you?" Tezuka stated once Fuji stopped laughing and continued to eat at his general slow pace.

"Hm…I liked Stanford. It had very pretty scenery – perfect for pictures – but later, I realized that I wanted to go into business too. I met Aiden there, actually, but didn't go there when I met him. He was vacationing, and the next year, he transferred. Sakuno came here shortly after, and the four of us roomed together even then."

Unlike Tezuka, Fuji already knew what to say. The words simply flowed, since there had been many occasions where he'd imagined telling Tezuka about all the wonders of America.

"We went to parties _all the time_, almost every night, I swear. It was tons of fun, and it really pressed into my school time. Sometimes, I felt like there was too much work and I was going to drown in it."

Fuji then turned to look at Tezuka, this time with closed eyes, once again. Six years ago, Fuji had always been easily distracted when it came to actual working. True, he was a tensai, but, oftentimes, he simply didn't like to work. It was during those times that Tezuka would appear and force Fuji to do everything.

"I managed, somehow, and at the end of the four years, I decided to follow Aiden to Chicago for my MBA. I actually finished last winter, since I took more classes than necessary per quarter, and I've been working at the Clanes' company as a photographer for the past few months."

"Photographer? Why the MBA, then?" Tezuka looked only vaguely interested, but Fuji knew that Tezuka wouldn't look away or stop listening even if Fuji stopped talking.

"I actually wanted a break from business work. I'm going to pursue business, but only after this year. I'm not completely sure, yet, exactly what aspect of their company I want to go into. I'm taking the rest of the year off for photography because…well, I want to. I haven't really focused on it in a really long time and it's one of my passions, you know? Tyler lets me take pictures of many of the models and sometimes, I even help with the designing. It's a lot of fun."

"Hn," Tezuka muttered.

Fuji smiled more. He was finally done eating and the awkward atmosphere was mostly gone. Talking to Tezuka felt unbelievably good. He hadn't realized how much he missed it until now, even if the brown haired stoic only put in small comments.

They spent the rest of the day fully enjoying each other's company. Fuji asked Tezuka all the questions that he'd been dying to know the answers to, regarding his old teammates, and Tezuka's answers always made him happy.

He learned that Eiji and Oishi planned to get married soon and co-managed one of Japan's most successful tennis clubs. Taka-san had taken over Kawamura Sushi and had expanded it into a large, famous cooking and dining business. Inui had started working for Atobe as well, but was involved in creating new chemical mixtures and testing prototypes of different products, along with Yanagi Renji from Rikkaidai. Kaidoh and Momoshiro had become surprisingly good friends, and lovers. The two had opened a pet shop that had just started expanding quite a bit recently.

And, of course, Echizen had become a tennis pro, and one of the top in the world. Fuji already knew that, since anyone with eyes could see Echizen's picture everywhere – books, magazines, TV commercials, posters, billboards, etc.

Then, Fuji managed to drag Tezuka off to play videogames with him. At first, Tezuka had simply pressed a random button every now and then, not realizing that with the Nintendo™ Wii you had to move your arms as well. Fuji could see Tezuka's frustration after a while – one of very few things that Tezuka had always managed to beat Fuji at had been videogames – and had finally showed the poor man how to play. Fuji had then learned that Tezuka was only good that videogames that required only the movement of thumbs and a few other fingers. Somehow, Tezuka winded up hanging upside down from their couch with the wire wrapped around his neck. Fuji had laughed at him again.

Fuji could feel himself slip back to some of his old, sadistic, teasing ways around Tezuka, and could see the other visibly loosen up and relax around him. Tezuka still didn't smile, but the corners of his lips slackened just a little bit. Watching Tezuka act like he always did around him reminded Fuji exactly why and just how much he had really, truly _loved_ Tezuka.

While Fuji had been thinking, a strong stab of pain made its way through his body. It had been cold, very cold – Tezuka's rejection and Fuji had never really gotten over it. Later, as Fuji had thought over it, he'd at least thought that Tezuka would've been more considerate. The Tezuka he knew wasn't a jerk…well, not always.

When Tezuka asked him why he was spacing out, Fuji shook his head and replied, "Saa…"

Tezuka rolled his eyes and Fuji chuckled. They slipped back, once again, to joking around and wasting their time in a fun, fruitful manner. However, Fuji's thoughts lingered in the back of his mind. He hadn't really gotten over Tezuka, at that time. Instead, Fuji had focused on falling in love with Aiden. Right then, he wondered if his own confession had left any impression on Tezuka.

And he was still trying to figure out whether it was working.

Overall, it had been a good day, especially since Fuji was waiting to drop the bomb on Tezuka until right before they had to leave. He had really missed teasing him and his sadistic side was full of glee.

Tezuka _loathed_ dancing.

**TBC**

* * *

**Does anyone want to beta for me please? Or can anyone suggest a beta? Help would be really appreciated!**

**-bows- I'm really sorry it took me over two weeks to update this. Las****t week I completely forgot that a whole week had already passed (since I was freaking out about school starting again), and this week, I was readjusting to school. They're just excuses though, so please forgive me! **

**Note: The next chapter will be updated tomorrow. From now on, all updates for Baby will be on Sundays. It's the most convenient time, really. Over the next month, or so, I'm going to be working on revising the previous chapters and putting them up again. Unless I find a beta, which means that the chapters will probably be updated much sooner. Please?**

**Anyways, if I still have any readers left, please review away! They're really helpful and have the added bonus of making me want to write more. And they make me really happy after a hard day of school!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	8. Dancing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, nor do I own the song "Baby" by Justin Bieber. I do own Aiden and Tyler :D**

**Warning: Justin Bieber song present. For those of you who don't like him...please, it's not that huge of a section, it's just necessary for this chapter. No actual singing, right?**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Verse 8 - Dancing**

Tezuka was enjoying himself immensely. He couldn't remember feeling so relaxed around anyone since Fuji left, except for the old Seigaku Regulars. And he hadn't seen most of them after starting on his MBA program.

Fuji was still everything he remembered and more: charming, witty, funny, evil, mysterious, pleasant, sarcastic, evil, crazy, weird, annoying, _evil_, and some other adjectives that Tezuka couldn't think of at the moment. Fuji still enjoyed knowing that Tezuka was uncomfortable (in a friendly way) around him, and loved teasing him. He was probably still making up for lost time, Tezuka mused.

Of course, he tried not to be too obvious about his elation, but Fuji could usually read him like an open book. And though Fuji's teasing was downright the most irritating thing on the face of the earth, Tezuka realized he'd missed that about Fuji the most.

And he knew that Fuji knew almost every thought that was running through his head. It was disconcerting, to say the least, but there was a reason Fuji was a tensai. Tezuka still wondered how Fuji simply seemed to _know_ things he really shouldn't.

"Ne, Tezuka, you like dancing right?" Fuji's tone was overly friendly.

Tezuka gave Fuji a blank stare that he knew would correctly be interpreted as saying 'are you serious?'

"So, I'm sure Aiden has told you we have plans for tonight. We're going…"

Fuji paused for dramatic effect. Tezuka simply raised an eyebrow.

"…dancing!"

Tezuka had yet to see how this related to him at all.

"And you're coming with us." Fuji offered Tezuka a sheepish grin, which really didn't look any different from his usual smile.

"No." Tezuka knew before he had even uttered the word that he was fighting a losing battle and Fuji would win. That didn't mean he was going down without a fight.

Fuji's already evil looking smile widened. "But you know you want to."

"No."

And it widened some more. "I'm taking you with me, and you will dance."

"No."

Didn't Fuji have any facial muscles? And, if he did, didn't they stop contracting at some point in time? "Tezuka…"

"No."

For such an angelic looking boy, Fuji sure did a wonderful impression of a shark with multiple rows of sharp, pointy, glistening teeth. "Great! So we're leaving in a half hour. We have to get you dressed!"

He'd lost. Tezuka sighed internally. He knew that his fight had been extremely poor. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd actually said "no" to something Fuji wanted to make him do.

Fuji dragged Tezuka out of the living room and back to his own room, all the while chatting away about how much fun dancing was going to be, how Tezuka really needed to just loosen up sometimes, and how they were going to meet an old friend again…and some other stuff. Tezuka honestly stopped paying attention, and instead just focused on not getting lost in the house.

"Come on in!" Fuji's soft, chirpy voice finally broke through his reverie, and Tezuka walked into where he had been earlier that morning. He successfully blocked any thoughts or images that may have made their way into his head about what happened and focused on describing the room instead.

For the first time, Tezuka noticed the number of stuffed toys in the room. It reminded him of Kikumaru's place when he was younger. The redhead had grown out of that phase, but still liked to keep one or two stuffed animals around.

But, Fuji's (and Aiden's) room was _full_ of stuffed toys, everywhere, just like a little kids room (except, more organized). There were all kinds – from small little kittens and puppies to giant sized koala bears and giraffes.

It was a bit sickening. Leave it to Fuji to like stuffed toys. But the boy had never really liked them before, had he?

"This way, Tezuka. I'm sure you'll fit into some of Aiden's clothes. You two are about the same size."

Tezuka once again followed Fuji towards one of the closets, and they entered.

It was huge.

It was probably about the size of the actual room itself (Tezuka wondered why someone needed a closet that big). There were carefully labeled and grouped sections for shoes of different styles and brands; shirts were separated by occasion, color, brand, style, and frequency of use, as were all pants, jeans and trousers. There was even an accessory section (separated into hats, sunglasses, bracelets, etc. in the same fashion as the other sections).

Fuji immediately walked over to the section labeled dancing and then gestured to Tezuka to join him.

Tezuka had a strange urge to leave the house and never come back. He had a feeling that Fuji looking for something to put on him would last forever and be very tedious – even if they only did have a half hour. Tezuka vaguely wondered whether he should point out that Fuji needed to get dressed too. It wouldn't work, he realized. Knowing Fuji, he was completely prepared for their little and _harmless_ outing.

Every few seconds, Fuji would look from the clothes to Tezuka, then back to the clothes. He looked like he was having a very difficult time deciding what Tezuka needed to wear. He'd grab something off the racks every now and then; more often than not, he'd put it back. Finally, Fuji turned back to Tezuka holding on to about ten different shirts and seven pants, which were mostly jeans, but Tezuka swore he saw leather amongst the pile.

"Change into these one by one. I'll pick out the shoes after you're done."

Fuji stared at Tezuka expectantly, and Tezuka stared back. Then he belatedly realized that Fuji was waiting for him to change.

He hadn't expected Fuji to be in the same room with him.

That's stupid, he told himself. He'd changed multiple times with Fuji in the same room, with Fuji outright staring at him, and hadn't felt embarrassed. So why was his throat completely dry now?

To distract himself, Tezuka looked at the clothes.

"No."

Fuji chuckled.

Most of the shirts were either extremely tight – around Fuji's size, actually – or completely see-through. Or, as was the case with a reddish one, both. The pants, though not see-through looked like they were at least two sizes smaller than Tezuka.

"Why not?"

"Fuji…" Tezuka warned. His buchou air was coming off of him in waves, just daring Fuji to disobey. Fuji had always been pretty daring, though.

"These are perfect for dancing! You would look great in them!" Fuji argued.

Tezuka sighed, and tried reasoning with Fuji. They continued for about ten minutes before Fuji finally decided that Tezuka could wear an undershirt and bigger, more comfortable jeans. Tezuka still wasn't happy, but he wasn't about to let go of the best compromise he would get out of the tensai.

Tezuka had honestly expected Fuji to stay and watch him change, and was thus surprised when Fuji simply handed him Aiden's clothes and strolled over to his own closet.

"We have fifteen minutes, Tezuka. There's a bathroom attached to the closet if you want to take a shower. Hurry."

Tezuka, after his quick shower, changed into the distasteful clothes. How could people actually stand wearing this stuff?

However, as he looked himself over in the mirror, he had to admit, he did look good. A light lavender see-though shirt accentuated his bodice very nicely, the undershirt only adding modesty and mystery. His black jeans weren't skin tight, thankfully, but barely seemed to hang on to his hips. After a while, he figured out how to move in them so that squeeze the wrong bits of flesh and didn't fall off his waist. A lightly worn looking pair of Converse finished off his outfit in a simple, but not trashy, manner.

Tezuka looked _sexy_.

"Ready to go?"

Fuji's soft voice called out to Tezuka and the two headed out.

Tezuka stared openly at Fuji.

What was he _wearing_?

Fuji did not look modest in any definition of the word.

His light blue and white striped full-sleeve was also see-through (though not as that of Tezuka's) and he went without an undershirt. The collars were daintily done, and had little buttons attached to them – one had a winking face on it while the other said "let's go at it." His jeans were obviously too tight, but he still looked perfectly comfortable. On one ear, he had a silver crucifix, with a black snake around it, attached, and Tezuka realized that both of his ears were pierced. His hair was pulled back by a simple clip, leaving his bangs hanging out front and giving him a very feminine look – if only it were so painfully obvious that he was a guy from his almost bare, deliciously muscular chest.

If Tezuka looked sexy, Fuji looked absolutely delectable.

That's what Tezuka thought, until Fuji started walking in front of him. For some strange reason, he could not, for the life of him, remove his eyes from Fuji's ass, which screamed "fuck me right now", if Tezuka's word was anything to go by. It was probably the jeans, he surmised.

"See anything you like?" Fuji asked, his voice sounding just a bit deeper than usual. How Fuji knew Tezuka was staring, Tezuka could only guess.

"…Eh?" Tezuka snapped out of staring at Fuji and tried to get his brain to function again.

Fuji chuckled merrily and the two were off to "the usual place", as Fuji had told him.

* * *

Fuji drove. Fuji was a very good driver, better than Tezuka himself.

Tezuka wondered why he was a bit surprised that Fuji was good at driving – after all, the tensai was good at pretty much _everything_, a trait Tezuka envied with a passion.

"We're here. Do you have an ID with you?"

"Yes." Tezuka pulled his out and they both flashed it at the guard waiting outside. There was a line, but the guard seemed to recognize Fuji and ushered the two in immediately.

The place wasn't that full. It had the perfect amount of people not to seem empty, but didn't seem like a crowd either. The lighting was very dim, and if it weren't for the random bits of color that popped up every few seconds, it would've been pitch black. What Tezuka figured was popular music flowed from the giant speakers, the deep bass vibrating throughout the room, and through his body. Many couples – both straight and homosexual – were dancing openly on the middle of the floor.

He saw Aiden speaking with who he assumed to be the DJ.

The bar – which had brighter lighting – was busy with a range of people from innocently flirting to completely stoned.

Tyler, Atobe and Sakuno were sitting at one of the secluded booths, Tezuka noted. He followed Fuji to them and they both greeted the others. Fuji took a seat next to Sakuno, and Tezuka filed in beside Atobe (though still keeping his distance).

"The others are going to be here soon. Yukimura-san and Sanada-san are supposed to meet our guests and they'll come together." Sakuno was practically screaming, but she hadn't been, no one would've heard her.

Time passed, and they ordered drinks. Tyler, Sakuno, and Atobe all ordered some fancy sounding alcoholic drinks with strange names, while Tezuka and Fuji simply got tea. The two were made fun of for being old men. "Seriously. Who drinks _tea_ at a night club?" was Tyler's question.

* * *

When Yukimura and Sanada finally arrived, Tezuka finally got to meet another two people that he'd probably be hanging out with that night.

Then, he realized he already knew one of them, and the other looked vaguely familiar.

"Buchou," spoke the quiet voice against the background music.

Tezuka's protégé, Echizen Ryoma, stood tall and proud in front of them in full night club gear. His looks could rival Fuji's, yet Tezuka wondered why his own reaction to the boy wasn't as strong. 'Probably because he's still a kid to me,' he told himself.

Echizen had grown taller, much taller, than what Tezuka remembered. He now stood just as tall as Yukimura – about an inch shorter than Fuji. Apparently, his growth spurt had finally hit during his senior year at Seigaku's high school division, but, by then, Tezuka was already too busy with college. Echizen had then gone off to become a pro in the tennis world and had met with huge success. Last Tezuka had heard, Echizen was taking courses at some two-year college so he could earn a degree. He'd gone back to the pros after that.

"Echizen," Tezuka acknowledged, standing up and shaking the boy's hand. It had been six years, he reminded himself again. The familiar smirk, cocky attitude, and Fila cap were all there in their usual places.

Next to Echizen stood a blonde boy of equal height and the same age, Tezuka presumed. Striking blue eyes sparkled in the club's light while a pair of sunglasses rested on top of his head. Tezuka supposed they were there to make the boy look cool.

"To those of you who don't know, this is Kevin Smith. He used rival us in the Japan-America tournaments, from junior high throughout high school."

Ah. Now Tezuka remembered the boy. He had turned down going pro, last Tezuka had heard.

"Nice to meet y'all." Kevin smirked – apparently he hadn't changed much either.

The four newcomers sat down at their large booth and started chatting. It was mostly Fuji and Echizen talking in what sounded like some secret code, and then Echizen turning his attention to Sakuno, Tyler, Yukimura and "Monkey King". Echizen didn't seem at all surprised to see Sakuno – so they had had contact before. Tezuka remained silent unless a question was directed at him, and Sanada did the same.

* * *

When Aiden came to join them, the music changed. He held out his hand elegantly, and Fuji stood up.

"Ah, the usual dance competition." Tyler smiled knowingly, and pulled Sakuno out to dance as well.

There was silence for a moment as the DJ called the attention of the club. "We're going to have our monthly dance competition! Tonight, we have last month's champion, Shusuke Fuji, and the runner up, Aiden Clanes!"

The DJ paused while multiple people cheered.

"Everyone who wants to give it a try, please get on the dance floor." He paused once again and there was shuffling and some people walked up to the dance floor. Yukimura looked like he really wanted to go up there. "Alright, is that everyone? Then, what are we waiting for? Let's start the party!"

Surprisingly, there was a lot of order to the way the people danced. Groups of two or three would go up every few minutes or so and dance their best. Some did break dancing while others merely flailed about the dance floor. The winner was supposed to be decided by the amount of cheering they got.

And then, it was Fuji and Aiden's turn.

The DJ introduced the song as "Low" by Flo Rida, specially requested by Aiden.

Aiden went first. Just from the way he walked up to the center of the floor, Tezuka could tell he was an expert break dancer. As soon as the music started, Aiden was on the floor, most certainly _not_ flailing around, but moving with grace that only years of practice provided, with a lot of careful choreography. He'd twist his body at impossible angles and slid around on the floor, every now and then showing off an obvious challenge to his fiancé. Sometimes, he'd be elevated in the air, other times, he'd be upside down, yet others, he would be on all fours on the floor. It was exciting to watch Aiden dance.

Once he finished, the club erupted with screams and cheers, the loudest yet. He wondered if Fuji could beat that.

Tezuka's question was quickly answered.

The DJ once again introduced a song, this one requested by Fuji, called "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

Fuji seemed to magically pop up on the stage once the verses started.

_You know you love me_

_I know you care_

_Just shout whenever_

_And I'll be there_

_You are my love_

_You are my heart_

_And we will never, ever, ever be apart_

The way Fuji's body moved was completely fluid – he made dancing like that look easy and completely natural. He obviously knew the song well, and each step seemed to tell a story, different from the one in the song.

_Are we an item?_

_Girl quit playing_

"_We're just friends"_

_What are you saying?_

_Said there's another – look right in my eyes_

_My first love broke my heart_

_For the first time _

Fuji seemed as if he was lost in a memory of a long time ago, of truly getting his heart broken. Something resonated within Tezuka, sometime powerful, but it went away just as quickly as he used his old defenses to shut it down.

Throughout the chorus, Fuji's dancing seemed to take on a new energy and you could see faint traces of lingering emotions emanating from him.

_For you, I would've done whatever_

_And I just can't believe _

_We ain't together_

_And I wanna play it cool_

_But I'm losing you_

_I'll buy you anything _

_I'll buy you any ring_

Fuji himself looked as if he was pleading, yet in an extremely graceful manner. He made Aiden's grace look like a bumbling elephant. His steps weren't as explosive as Aiden's. Actually, he probably stayed mostly within the same space. However, even his most angular moves flowed with what he was doing. It was as if Tezuka was in a trance.

_And I'm in pieces_

_Baby, fix me_

_And just shake me_

_Till you wake me_

_From this bad dream_

_I'm going down, down, down, down_

_And I just can't believe my first love won't be around_

Fuji looked so vulnerable, yet so strong out on the floor. He was radiating energy and the whole club had formed a half circle around him.

Fuji's eyes stayed closed the whole time and he used the rest of his body to express emotions that seemed as if they'd been repressed for a long time.

_When I was thirteen_

_I had my first love_

_There was nobody that compared to my baby_

_And nobody came between us _

_Or could ever come above_

_She had me going crazy_

_Oh, I was star struck_

_She woke me up daily_

_Don't need no Starbucks_

_She made my heart pound_

_And skip a beat when I'd see her on the street and _

_At school on the playground_

_But I really wanna see her on the weekend_

_She knows she's got me dazing _

'_Cause she was so amazing_

_And now my heart is breaking_

Most of all, the way Fuji's hips moved was hypnotizing. It looked shy and modest, yet extremely forward and dirty. He somehow managed to show them off no matter what step he used. Fuji would swing his hips in an extremely feminine way, drawing everyone's eyes to them. Not only were emotions rolling off of him in waves, so was the aura of pure sexiness.

As the bridge and the last of the chorus faded away, Fuji opened his eyes.

_I'm gone_…

The last words echoed throughout the club as Fuji's eyes met Tezuka's.

Tezuka took in a breath as he saw all the raw emotion, the _fire_ bared in front of him. But the moment was gone as quickly as Fuji had presented it.

The other dancers had been cheering, screaming, shouting, and _yelling _their approval of Fuji's dance. He had easily wiped the floor with Aiden, and the rest of the competitors, and got a small prize (some sort of coupon and an official award) for winning.

As they made their way back to the table, things at the club started to go back to normal. People stopped Fuji and Aiden on their way to congratulate them, and ask for their numbers, but the two eventually sat down.

Fuji accepted everything brightly, and turned down the offers for dates and such with a sad smile.

Tezuka stared at Fuji sharply, searching his face. What had brought on the sudden spurt of what could only have been anger? Had he done something wrong? If he had, he wanted to fix it right then. He'd never liked when things between him and Fuji got awkward, though they rarely fought. He always felt terrible, as if he'd just lost someone very important.

However, his search was to no avail. No longer was any trace of Fuji's emotions even hinted at. He was back to the old Fuji.

Fuji even turned to him once, and asked, "Is there something wrong, Tezuka?"

Tezuka wanted to scream.

**TBC**

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Haha, bad place to end it. Sorry. BUT! Echizen's back! What could this mean?

**Anyway, thank you EVERYONE for all the reviews of the last chapter. I know I haven't updated in a while, and I just wanted to update this chapter before I go to sleep tonight. **

**It looks like I'm going to have a beta (yay, CoffeeTea :D) so the previous chapters will be revised in due time. Meanwhile, all chapters, from next week on (hopefully) shall be betaed. I think. We haven't really worked out the details yet, so no promises. **

**Anyway, please review! The time is ticking and it's almost been six days since Tezuka and Fuji met up again. And Echizen and Atobe seem to know something...**

**REVIEW! :D**


	9. Sleeping

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Yay, I made it on time! :)

**ENJOY!**

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Verse 9 – Sleeping

Tezuka wondered how he had ended up in this mess.

Fuji stood in front of him, smiling pleasantly, as per usual. He looked a bit too innocent, in Tezuka's opinion.

Behind the tensai, Aiden and Sakuno were shuffling around, pulling out two futons, and laying both out on the floor with fluffy blankets. The blankets all had smiling bear faces drawn in.

He remembered how he'd gotten here in the first place.

_Everyone around Tezuka and Fuji (except, perhaps, Echizen) had had some form of alcohol__,__ and were all slightly tipsy. No one was completely drunk though._

_It was then that Fuji suggested they leave. Fuji looked tired. He had danced with almost everyone in the room, sans Tezuka, and they'd been there for about four or five hours. It was already past midnight._

_After everyone filed into their choice of Echizen's, Atobe's, or Aiden's car, Tezuka was left standing beside Fuji. Then, he was dragged into the rather comfortable backseat of Echizen's BMW (Tezuka refused to acknowledge that "dragging" had, at some point in time, changed to "following willingly"). _

_They were sitting relatively peacefully, with quiet conversation every now and then between Echizen and Fuji. Tezuka zoned out a few seconds in and didn't look up until his name was mentioned._

"_Speaking of which, Tezuka, can you spend the night?" _

_Tezuka wondered where that had come from, but answered with his immediate reaction: "No." Only afterwards did he realize that he had no good reason to refuse. It wasn't as if his parents were there to tell him otherwise, and he didn't have anything important to do the next morning._

_Fuji smiled at him in that knowing way as Kevin proceeded to point out his exact thoughts._

_Tezuka later wondered why he hadn't noticed before. If he was supposed to go back to Atobe's mansion, he was sure Atobe would've made a big fuss over it. _

_Apparently, Fuji had planned this a very long time ago._

_Stubbornly, he continued to say no, even after he crossed the threshold of their house._

Now, Tezuka stood in front of Fuji, continuously refusing to stay.

Atobe, Yukimura, and Sanada had, presumably, gone back to Atobe's mansion. Echizen and Kevin had gone back to Kevin's apartment, but only after giving Fuji an encouraging smirk. Tyler was busy working on something or the other, and after Tyler kissed Fuji good-night, and Sakuno said the same, the two were alone once again.

He realized he was being a bit childish. Atobe was most definitely not going to send someone to pick him up, and he most certainly did not remember the way back. He didn't exactly want to wander around unfamiliar streets after midnight either.

But, he constantly said no, continuously being stubborn. Fuji humored him in his own way – by continuing to smile and saying "Tezuka" sarcastically every now and then. Before Tezuka knew it, he realized he was having fun.

He also hadn't realized that they had, at some point, sat down on their respective futons.

They were in "The Old Room", as Fuji called it, and, even though there was a bed, he didn't like letting people sleep on the floor by themselves. He also thought that the floor was comfortable.

"Saa…what should we do, Tezuka?" Fuji's voice was lowered, almost to a whisper, as if mumbling a great secret.

Tezuka quirked an eye brow. Fuji knew he wasn't an ideas person; that had always been the tensai's job. Though, Tezuka wouldn't admit it for the world.

Fuji chuckled – they both noticed that Fuji had been chuckling a lot more than usual – before speaking. "Why don't we watch a movie?"

The idea seemed innocent enough – Tezuka was actually glad that Fuji wasn't feeling especially creative.

He simply nodded and reluctantly let Fuji pick on he wanted to watch. Tezuka wasn't known for his choice of movies, and Fuji wasn't a guru at it either. While the stoic one in the room would have happily picked a documentary or some other informative movie, the sadist would lean towards the horror genre, and the gory murder mysteries.

Which was exactly what he did.

Tezuka was left to turn off the lights and turn on the TV while Fuji went to grab the movie and some food. He then quickly changed into the ridiculous pajamas he'd been given.

* * *

When Fuji got back with stack of movies, stacked even more with food, he found Tezuka sitting against the wall with his arm crossed across his chest. His usual stoic expression was marred by the frown pulling his lips down by a millimeter or two. The reason for his obvious discomfort was just as obvious.

Aiden's fogged mind had taken a hold of the first set of clean sleepwear that his hands could find. Tezuka was too polite to say anything about it.

The shirt and the pants were both a light blue. The pants reached to his ankles and had dots of yellow and black uniformly throughout. The blue shirt, however, had a giant, yellow frowning smiley face on it. Underneath the animation, the statement "I Need A Hug" was bring in bold, black ink. He looked adorable.

* * *

Fuji's smile looked predatory and far too pleased. Tezuka immediately gave the tensai a glare (which came out as more of a pout, due to his frown). Fuji's smile grew wider.

But the jibes Tezuka expected never came. Instead, Fuji closed, and locked the door behind him, and laid out the movies and the food in front of Tezuka. "Pick one," he commanded.

Tezuka stared at Fuji. He didn't even look at the movies Fuji had attempted to show him. Fuji finally picked out a movie, with a sigh. It started playing.

He joined the tensai at the two grouped futons once the tensai gesticulated absentmindedly. They both lay on their stomachs, Fuji already drawn into the dark pictures moving across the screen.

Tezuka tried to pay attention to the movie, but even still, he wasn't really sure what was going on. He just saw a girl go around killing a bunch of people while making strange noises. That part wasn't scary. What made him have to suppress a shiver was her face: it was completely covered with her long hair, and the only time you saw anything was when she looked up – a large, mostly white eye. It was creepy. As was the inhuman way she moved (but that was probably because she was dead).

But he wasn't scared. Not at all. He remained stoic.

Every now and then Fuji would pass over some of the food. Tezuka soon learned that what Fuji considered movie food included lots and lots of candy. Once, Fuji handed him a licorice strand, while another time, he found his hands full of something call "Buncha Crunch". There were Milk Duds, Whoppers, Gummy Bears, and even just plain bars of chocolate. Giving a small look at the food pile, Tezuka gaped (inwardly) at the sheer amount. All of it looked sickly sweet. Did Fuji really expect them to finish all of that?

Going back to the movie took effort. He'd already forgotten the plot of it. It was just a bunch of people dying because they entered that house. There wasn't much blood in it, but it wasn't absent either. The whole movie was simply very disturbing, in Tezuka's opinion. But the movie wasn't bad.

He was most definitely going to choose the next movie.

By the time the credits rolled, Tezuka was already lying on his back; he'd been watching the movie upside down for the past five minutes because being on his stomach became uncomfortable after a while.

He closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep.

Trust Fuji to tear that idea into shreds, burn it, and laugh maniacally while watching.

* * *

"Ne, Tezuka, did you like the movie?" Fuji asked curiously.

He knew that most people, especially most of his Japanese friends, didn't like scary movies. He hadn't really found the movie too scary. It was the people's fault, really: if they'd just stayed out of the house, they would've been fine.

But the special effects were pretty awesome, in Fuji's opinion. And he wanted to know if Tezuka felt the same.

"Aa," was the reply he got. It spoke volumes.

"You didn't like the girl?"

"Hn."

"Her eyes we cool, ne?"

"…"

Fuji chuckled before poking Tezuka.

* * *

Tezuka opened his eyes and turned to look at Fuji, annoyance apparent on his face. Had the tensai just _poked_ him?

Tezuka was poked again by a finger connected to an evil-seeming Fuji. Tezuka huffed. Fuji poked him. _Again_. So, the stoic man did the most logical thing anyone could think of- he poked Fuji back.

And, so started a huge poke war between the two. They ran around the room and hid behind different objects and furniture. Soon enough, Fuji's bright laughter filled the room and Fuji surrendered. "You are the poke master, Tezuka. I cannot win against you!" Fuji kept laughing and Tezuka felt silly.

They had a really good time, especially Tezuka. They'd spent quite a bit of time, and since Tezuka and Fuji were too mature to start a pillow fight (well, Fuji would've probably done it, but Tezuka frowned upon that), the poke war had sufficed. And Tezuka felt incredibly triumphant at winning.

His lips quirked up, just a millimeter, but Fuji's sharp eyes caught it.

The two stared at each other, Tezuka being able to imagine the look on Fuji's closed eyes easily.

The moment seemed, somehow, so intense. He wasn't sure how he knew, but something was happening.

Unconsciously, his eyes went down to Fuji's lips. He licked his own in…anticipation? Excitement? Anxiousness? He wasn't sure.

But he kept watching.

Suddenly, Tezuka noticed the details: the way Fuji's hair fell softly onto his shoulders, the way his lashes rested on his upper cheeks, the way his pale lips parted letting in air, the smooth skin near his lightly bared neckline. Everything stood out in sharp, clear detail, and Tezuka couldn't have missed it even if he tried to.

He leaned forward unconsciously.

Fuji opened his eyes.

The sea-blue orbs sparkled. Tezuka couldn't read the expression on them, but he knew he felt the same. He saw the same questions, the same confusion, and something else he couldn't identify, and wondered if his eyes reflected the same.

Fuji breathed out. The hair around his face moved just a little, and tickled his chin. It was a truly entrancing sight.

Tezuka leaned closer, licking his lips once more, his eyes glancing between the tensai's own and his lips.

Silence resounded throughout the room.

"Tezuka…?"

* * *

Fuji's quiet question brought Tezuka back to reality and his smile immediately disappeared.

Fuji was actually a bit hurt at the way Tezuka pretty much jumped back, though the disappearing smile was expected.

What had Tezuka been trying to do? And had Fuji's eyes tricked him?

For a moment, Fuji was sure that he'd seen Tezuka's eyes sparkle with pent up desire and excitement, as if he was trying to initiate something. The older boy had leaned closer, so Fuji had returned the gesture.

And Tezuka had kept looking at his lips. What was that about?

"Um…We should go to sleep now…"

This time, Tezuka nodded, and gratefully accepted Fuji's suggestion. The only other time Fuji had seen the boy move so fast was on the tennis court, as he watched him crawl underneath the futon. Fuji lay down on top of the blankets next to Tezuka.

Fuji matched his breathing to Tezuka's, breathing in every time Tezuka breathed out. It was calming in a strange way, as if they were in sync.

Tezuka had seemed like he'd wanted to do something…what? Fuji had had a passing idea that came to him – Tezuka had kept looking at his lips. Could he have possibly wanted to…?

No, he decided, immediately. Tezuka wasn't like that. Tezuka wouldn't do that. It was just a trick of the light.

With that, he rested his closed eyes and let himself drift off to dreamland. Somehow, he felt a little disappointed.

* * *

Tezuka couldn't look at Fuji, even if the other boy was asleep. He noticed when Fuji matched his breathing and felt relieved that the tensai didn't seem to have noticed anything. His heart slowed- when had it sped up, anyways? And he calmed down just little.

He hadn't just thought about kissing his tensai. No, that wasn't it. It was definitely something else.

Tezuka closed his eyes and sighed internally. He repeated the mantra over and over.

It was _definitely_ something else. So why did he regret not leaning forward just a bit more?

**TBC**

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**Hm, so what was Tezuka thinking? Especially, when he doesn't like Fuji? Yeah, right, Tezuka, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night.**

**Thank you so much, CoffeeTea, for beta-reading this chapter (even if have said thanks a thousand times already)! :D**

**REVIEW PLEASE! What should Tezuka do next?**


	10. Remembering

**Gah, sorry this chapter took so long! I was without a computer that could type this _and_ update it last week, and only had access to internet through my cell. But it's longer than usual, to make up!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Verse 10 - Remembering

Tezuka was quickly starting to believe that ignorance was, indeed, bliss.

He hadn't slept for longer than about fifteen minutes every now and then. It was completely Fuji's fault.

One of the few things he had forgotten about Fuji… were his sleeping his habits. There had been many times during their six years' acquaintance when he'd spent the night at Fuji's house due to various reasons, and vice versa. He wouldn't say it had been absolutely natural to spend the night together, because that thought did strange things to him, but it happened often enough. Fuji always felt bad about having Tezuka sleep on the floor, and Tezuka refused to take bed (or _share _it, as Fuji had once suggested), so they would both sleep side by side.

And every morning, he'd wake up with an armful of a very clingy, very childish, and very possessive Fuji. Most of the time, he'd realize that he didn't have to go to school or practice, and he'd immediately fall asleep again, but one of the few times the two had woken up at the same time had been a bit awkward. Tezuka had decided that day to ask why Fuji always wound his body around his own during his sleep.

"I don't know. Why do you always reciprocate the action?" had been the smiling tensai's casual answer.

And Fuji had been right. Anytime Fuji was in his arms when he woke up, he usually had his own arms at least flung over, if not always wrapped around, the tensai's tenuous waist.

This morning was no different than all those other mornings.

Fuji had casually, unintentionally, wrapped his whole frame around Tezuka and was very much asleep. Tezuka had fallen asleep for about ten minutes before Fuji had migrated towards him in the night. At first, he'd thought it was Fuji's idea of a joke, but when he'd earned no answer from the man, he'd realized that he was truly asleep.

That didn't really improve the situation. Throughout the remainder of the night, Fuji had inched closer and closer to him before they'd reached their current situation. Tezuka had managed to doze off every now and then, but his over-active mind would always break through and he'd wake with a start. He didn't really want to be spotted wrapped up in Fuji, just in case his old habit was lingering as well.

Tezuka looked over at the hand-clock on the wall – Fuji wasn't really overly fond of the digital kind, for some reason – and saw that it was almost nine in the morning. Was it an acceptable time to get up yet, after supposedly having been up until four in the morning?

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, which was quickly opened before he could reply. Sakuno walked in, Aiden following close behind her. Tezuka frazzled mind tried to come up with some sort of explanation as to why he was allowing this, since he couldn't exactly rush to the other end of the room without looking like an idiot, but to no avail.

Luckily, for him, Sakuno and Aiden both seemed to know about Fuji's habit and only giggled lightly.

"We were just checking on you two. Breakfast will be ready in a half hour, but we'll leave it on the stove if you two delay," Sakuno managed to choke out between giggles.

Aiden smiled at him and inquired after the quality of his sleep. Tezuka lied through his teeth and said that it had been wonderful.

Once he was left alone again, with a sleepy Fuji clinging to him, he sighed in relief.

Then, his mind charged ahead to jealousy.

* * *

Aiden stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Sakuno was immediately by his side, looking worried.

"Nothing. Go ahead, I forgot something. I'll catch up soon," he smiled out. If being with Fuji had taught him anything, it had been to smile through almost any situation.

The worried look didn't leave Sakuno's eyes, but she did leave. Once she was out of sight, Aiden crouched down on the floor, his smile immediately gone.

He couldn't say that he had been entirely surprised when he'd walked into Shuusuke's old room. Shuusuke always had been a clingy sleeper – if there was no one beside him, he'd attach himself to the wall – even before they'd started going out. But they were engaged to be married now! How could Shuusuke do that, especially to his old – and possibly still lingering – crush?

Aiden wasn't angry, not at Shuusuke or even at Kunimitsu. He was just a bit upset and very jealous- though a large part of his mind tried to reassure him that it wasn't anything serious. Kunimitsu being in Chicago wouldn't affect their relationship at all. It might even make Shuu a bit more open and happy having his old best friend near him and with him at the wedding. Everyone had noticed how much more positive Shuusuke had been since Kunimitsu had reappeared in his life. So, it wasn't a bad thing at all. Aiden told himself that, and other reassurances multiple times over. He didn't need to worry. After all, they were engaged, and Shuu would never break that fact.

Shuusuke was his. Aiden wasn't really sure what he'd do without the other man that he'd become so dependent upon, had fallen so completely in love with.

* * *

Though Tezuka didn't know it, he was in a similar situation as Aiden.

However, his jealousy was much stronger. And he didn't have anything to reassure him, nothing that told him Fuji would be his, forever.

Not that he wanted Fuji to be his, forever. Honestly. Their relationship was a platonic one, nothing more.

Tezuka knew very well what was making him jealous. It was the idea that Fuji had slept like this with Aiden every single night since they'd moved in together (and he wasn't even sure when that was).

It had been Aiden who got to wake up every morning in the awkward situation. It had been Aiden who got to ask Fuji why he slept like that. It had been Aiden who got to reciprocate Fuji's gestures. It had always been Aiden.

It had been Aiden who had the opportunity to run his hands through Fuji's hair, which seemed incredibly tempting at the moment. It had been Aiden who got to smell the light scent of vanilla and milk mixed with sleep that hovered almost imperceptibly around the tensai. It had been Aiden who got to be the first one to see Fuji's smile and whisper, "Good morning", as Tezuka always used to. It had been Aiden who would listen to Fuji's quiet, random observations that pertained to anything and everything. It had been Aiden who became Fuji's confidant and best friend.

Aiden had slowly, but surely, replaced everything that Tezuka had once been for Fuji. And that was what made Tezuka jealous.

However, he really wasn't sure why. Yes, he had lost his best friend, but it was to the other's lover. It was only natural. So why did he want to stay in this sleepy moment with only the two of them, and make it last as long as he could?

Tezuka turned his body slightly so he was laying on his right side and facing the sleeping tensai. The other's face was buried in his pillow, his highlighted ocher hair not at all disarrayed. His usual smile was mostly gone, replaced, instead, with a relaxed look. His breaths were quiet and slow. Fuji truly looked like the teenager he had always remembered.

Tezuka didn't move his own arms to encircle Fuji, but kept staring. He was mesmerized by the innocent beauty he saw laid out before him. His mind was a confused jumble of memories from their shared youth.

The most vivid were, of course, the ones where they'd won the Nationals, three times. The old team had improved considerably during high school, and they'd been able to grab the champion's title even without Echizen during his second year. The next year, Echizen had joined them and everything had gotten much more interesting.

The whole time, Fuji had never strayed from his side, their friendship, always unwavering. Fuji had never quiet lost his observation skills, and he always commented on everyone's form, techniques, speed, strength, etc. Tezuka always listened with rapt attention.

He and Fuji had gotten close enough that the younger boy had been able to coerce a few small smiles out of him every now and then, even without the National's victories. They'd walk home together the days when Tezuka didn't have some Student Council meeting, or when Fuji wasn't preoccupied with the photography club. It was routine and often afforded both peace of mind during some hectic times.

Once Echizen came back, Fuji started spending more time with him. He had Seigaku's pillar teach him fluent English the way school could never really teach him. After a while, the two only spoke to each other in English, unless they were in other people's company. Fuji managed to bring out the sadistic side in Echizen, and Tezuka had soon found he had to deal with two pranksters instead of one. Somehow, both of them always avoided detention.

Mizuki Hajime and Yuuta had both joined Seigaku's high school division, and that had made Fuji very tense for a little while. Even after he'd accepted that Yuuta had made a name for himself and was no longer inflicted with an older brother complex, he couldn't accept Mizuki. Fuji had never forgiven the other for hurting his brother, but Yuuta, Tezuka, and Echizen and forced the two into a rocky acquaintance that wasn't full of hatred. After a while, Fuji had eased up and started teasing Mizuki by "forgetting" his name – this time, without any intended malice.

Even Tezuka had found it funny (though he'd never show it out in the open).

Tezuka remembered being surprised after finding out that Fuji and Echizen's close friendship had been there almost since halfway through their senior year at Seigaku middle school, but he hadn't been jealous. He'd been glad that his kouhai had found other close friends than just Momo and sometimes Kikumaru. He'd also been glad that his best friend had found a partner in crime, but he'd also been horrified by that.

Overall, he couldn't say his teenage years had been uneventful, what with the whole Seigaku plus Mizuki and Yuuta crowd.

Then Fuji had initiated that fake confession. He knew it had been fake because of two reasons: one, Fuji would never actually like _him _of all people, and two, no one's face was that straight when they confessed. So, he'd refused Fuji in the simplest, most straight-forward way he knew.

After that, everything had gone back to normal. Fuji still smiled the same way, and they still hung out just as much as before. Tezuka didn't even suspect anything was off until Fuji's announcement, but even then he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Tezuka wasn't completely sure why, but now that he was staring at Fuji's sleeping form, he was reminded strongly of Fuji's confession. It wasn't one of those special moments that he'd stored away in his memory, so he couldn't quite remember the setting, but he remembered exactly how Fuji's voice had sounded.

He imagined the Fuji lying so vulnerably in front of him saying that. Would he fake it? He wondered.

And that urge was still there. It took a considerable amount of willpower to the not run his hands through the tensai's hair and fix it so it didn't cover up most of the other's face. He wanted to feel the silky texture he knew it'd be. He also wanted to run his fingers lightly over the smoothness of the tensai's pallid face. He wanted to rub those soft looking lips and then, slowly, very slowly, kiss–

Wait a second, no he didn't! Tezuka jerked himself out of his thoughts as violently as he could. Who knew where he would have ended up had he not? It would've been dangerous, especially if Fuji woke up. He already had right hand reaching towards Fuji (which he placed in a less suspicious position, next to his left), though he didn't remember doing that.

This was not the time or the place for his thoughts.

After much consideration, Tezuka finally thought about admitting it. His mind was in a jumble. He couldn't sort out his thoughts. And there was most definitely something wrong with him if he was starting to have these strange feelings near his best friend. He doubted – knew for sure – that everyone didn't walk around wanting to…to…to kiss (there, he admitted that too) their best friend. There must be something wrong with him.

"You know, Tezuka, I've never seen someone stare off into space for so long without blinking."

The quiet voice had the intended effect. Tezuka blinked and floated down from his thoughts to look at a still sleepy Fuji. The younger man had yet to remove his arms from around Tezuka – he didn't seem to notice their uncomfortable situation – but Tezuka didn't say anything. If anything, it would make Fuji laugh at him.

"Fuji…" Tezuka remembered one of the things he wanted to do. "Good morning."

Fuji's smile was immediate and genuine. "Good morning, Tezuka. Did you sleep well?"

Tezuka's answer didn't falter for a second, but Fuji's eyes opening slightly alerted Tezuka that Fuji didn't believe his 'just fine'. "How about you?"

"Tezuka…" Fuji seemed to be about to ask something. "Fine. Breakfast is ready, right? We should get downstairs soon."

Fuji untangled himself from Tezuka as if they woke up like this every day, leaving Tezuka momentarily disgruntled. He needed to get away from this house, back to Atobe's, and lock himself in his own room. That would be the only place he could think with a clear head (possibly). He really did need to sort out his feelings.

"Today's Sunday, so you can just go downstairs in those pajamas. No one will laugh at you," Fuji giggled out. Tezuka managed a glare Fuji. He didn't want to be reminded of his "I Need A Hug" sleepwear. It was embarrassing.

Fuji stopped laughing but had an evil glint in his eyes. Tezuka had no choice but to disregard that. He'd learned very quickly that trying to get Fuji to reveal his plans ahead of time usually ended in a disaster worse than the one Fuji had originally planned. You obviously weren't meant to know how tensai's thought.

The two of them made their way down to the dining room, Fuji leading the way, since Tezuka had already forgotten. The whole time, Tezuka was trying to come up with a good excuse as to why he should leave immediately.

* * *

Fuji noticed Tezuka's discomfort but didn't say anything about it. He partly had an idea as to what was making so Tezuka so skittish in his own stoic way, but he knew that bringing it up wouldn't change anything. He himself had had to imagine that Tezuka was Aiden when untangling himself from the taller man's frame.

Down at breakfast, Tezuka's behavior didn't change, though no one else noticed anything different in the former Seigaku captain. Tezuka wasn't the only one acting strange. Aiden, who sat next to him, wasn't any better. It was obvious his fiancé was sulking, and Fuji had a feeling he knew exactly why. He would reassure him later.

The morning flew by in a blur and when Tezuka did leave, Fuji couldn't remember the excuse the other had given. His attention had been wandering and it always went back to the same thing.

For a little while, Fuji was actually a bit glad that Tezuka was gone. It seemed to make Aiden a bit happier, and gave Fuji, himself, space to think. Halfway through the day, however, Fuji realized that he already missed his ex-buchou's company.

He didn't get to see the other for another two days after Tezuka had left.

* * *

It was almost midnight – definitely not the best time to visit someone – and Tezuka felt like hyperventilating. Outwardly, he didn't even look disheveled. Inwardly, he was very much past panicking. Tezuka felt as if he'd lost his mind. Why he was even doing this, he didn't know.

He rang the doorbell, hoping that Fuji opened the door. It was Sakuno.

"Ah, Tezuka-san! Please, come in!" were her first kind words. She didn't inquire after him, for which he was glad, but he shook his head to the request.

"Is…Is Fuji here?" he tried to keep his voice steady. He knew what was doing and he would go through with it. It couldn't be that difficult, right?

"Well, then, wait here, I'll get him."

"What about me?" Sakuno was spared the trouble as the aforementioned tensai appeared right behind her. "Tezuka! What're you doing here?"

Tezuka tried to gulp down the huge lump in throat – it took three tries – and speak clearly. Everything that came to mind somehow sounded ridiculous to him, so he ended up staring blankly at Fuji.

Sakuno had left a while ago after giving Fuji a look. Now, Fuji stepped out of the house and shut the door behind him. "You want to talk about something?"

They started walking, one of the only things that still seemed natural. Tezuka didn't say anything, but he didn't know how long the two of them actually spent in silence. Fuji seemed content to just wait until Tezuka spoke. The tensai somehow knew that Tezuka wouldn't be able to say anything if he interrupted him.

"Fuji…" When Tezuka did finally start, that was the only thing he could think of.

"Yes, Tezuka?"

They kept walking and Tezuka kept his silence.

"Look up, Tezuka."

Tezuka did as he was told. He blinked back his own surprise. Had they really walked all the way to Lake Michigan?

"Isn't it cool? It's so pretty right now, right?"

It was. It was a new moon, so the only light to see the lake with came from the few boats still out, and from the still awake city behind them. The hovering ambience made the lake glow in just the right way, though it was so slight, you had to squint your eyes a bit to see.

That gave Tezuka the push he was looking for and he went in without preamble.

"Fuji…I like you."

**TBC**

* * *

**Alright, so what'd you guys think of that? **

**You'll get to know more about Tezuka's feelings next chapter, I just needed to put that in this chapter :D**

**Thanks a lot to CoffeeTea for beta-reading this! I know I changed the spelling of Fuji's name back to Shuusuke from Syuusuke, but that's because I like to spell it in direct transliteration from the Japanese. :D**

**Anyway, REVIEW away please!**


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